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57
AIR-RAID PRECAUTIONS.
The first and most important problem confronting your Medical Officer shortly
after he took up his duties with the Authority was the organisation of the Port Health
Service in Air-raid Defence, and the protection of its premises and property,
particularly Denton Hospital, in the event of a national emergency.
Consequently your Medical Officer lost no time in preparing a provisional scheme
on the lines embodied in the following report, which he submitted to the Committee
at their October meeting:—
26th September, 1938.
Air-raid and other Precautions in the Times of National Emergency.
"The present international situation seems to call for an early and indeed
urgent consideration of the various conditions that might affect the normal
work of the Port Health Authority in times of national emergency.
"It seems clear that much of the work of the Port Health Authority
would have to be continued, even in the most difficult circumstances, in order
to protect the health of the Port and the Country generally, and to safeguard
the food supplies that enter the Port. It may also be desirable, if not necessary,
to collaborate closely with the work, under emergency conditions, of the Port of
London Authority, in order to assist that Authority in maintaining the
efficiency and safety of the Port and in carrying out exceptional measures
to that end.
"The first problem that arises in connection with the maintenance of the
work of the Port Health Authority is the protection of the staff of the Authority
in the course of their duties, so that they may carry them out with the maximum
possible efficiency. This can best be done by training each and every member
of the staff in the methods of self-protection against gas, so as to minimise the
possibility of casualties. After consultation with your Chairman, your Medical
Officer has made arrangements for the instruction of the whole staff in air-raid
precaution measures for self protection. It is anticipated that by the time
this Report comes before your Worshipful Committee for consideration, each
member of the staff will have completed a full course of ten hours' instruction
under the direction of Mr. A. W. Moore, one of your clerical officers in the central
office, who is officially recognised under the Home Office Scheme as an Instructor
in Air-raid Precautions.
"The second problem concerns the part that the Port Health Authority
might play in the general scheme for carrying out the work of the Port in national
emergency and in times of air-raids. A general review of Anti-gas Precautions
for Merchant Shipping is given in the Air-raid Precautions Handbook No. 7,
issued by the Home Office. Your Medical Officer has had occasion to confer
with Rear-Admiral R. W. Oldham, O.B.E., the Port of London Authority
Air-raid Precautions Officer. Admiral Oldham pointed out that under the
Air-raid Precautions Scheme of the Port of London, ships which have been
subjected to attack by lethal gas are required to fly the signal "Gas" on entering
the Port, and to remain in an approved examination anchorage at a safe distance
from the shore and other shipping until the Port Anti-gas Officer has visited
the ship and made suitable arrangements. The duty of the Port Anti-gas
Officer in this respect will be to ascertain whether the ship itself and the whole
or part of the cargo has been contaminated, and it is suggested that since health
and even safety to life is involved your Worshipful Committee's medical and
other staff at the "Hygeia" could render great assistance to the Port Antigas
Officer by acting as Assistant Port Anti-gas Officers, and by boarding
ships flying the "Gas" flag, and after inspection issuing instructions for such
further action as may be necessary should the ship or its cargo be found
contaminated.
"With regard to Denton Hospital, it has been suggested that the Hospital
could render invaluable services to shipping subjected to air-raids, by acting
as a decontamination centre where persons and clothing from contaminated
ships could be sent, and as a casualty clearing station for the gassed and
wounded.