London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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City of London 1951

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]

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Ships requiring medical attention are required to fly the flag signal
LIM during the day and to flash "Q" on their morse lamp by night -when approaching
Gravesend, both signals meaning "Port Medical Officer required".
4. Mooring Stations Designated under Article 10 -
During 1947 and after correspondence with the Port of London Authority
and the Waterguard Superintendent of His Majesty's Customs and Excise, new Mooring
Stations were adopted to replace those that had been destroyed by enemy action
during the war. Such Mooring Stations were set out in full in my Annual Report
for 1947.
5. Experience of working Article 16 <=
(1) As ships are cleared in the River immediately on arrival, no
difficulty has been experienced in preventing the embarkation or disembarkation of
unauthorised persons.
(2) When a vessel arrives which has on board a case of one of the major
infectious diseases or on which such a case has died or has been landed abroad withii
the incubation period of the particular disease, it is the practice to regard every
person on board as a contact and accordingly to arrange for his or her observation
or surveillance.
Those persons intending to leave the ship must give their names and addresses
before leaving and this is done by issuing such persons with a specially prepared
double post-card on one half of which he gives full details of his name and the
address to -which he is proceeding immediately on disembarkation; the other half
he is asked to keep and use only should he change his address during a specified
period. This half of the card is on the "Business Reply Card" system so that the
person concerned does not have to stamp it.
6. What, if any, arrangements have been made for -
(a) Premises and -waiting rooms for medical examination -
Medical examinations are usually carried out on board ship but there
are rooms available for the medical inspection of Aliens on the Tilbury Landing
Stage ®
(b) Cleansing and disinfection of ships, persons, clothing and other articles -
Disinfection of infected quarters is usually carried out by the
Sanitary Inspector in whose area the vessel berths. Should, however, the space
requiring disinfection be large, a private firm is employed -who carries out the
disinfection under the supervision of the Sanitary Inspector.
Although Denton Hospital has been taken over by the South-East
Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board, the Disinfecting Station, containing a
Washington Lyons Steam Disinfector is available for the disinfection of clothing
bedding etc., and for cleansing cases of scabies.
(c) Premises for the temporary accommodation of persons for whom such
accommodation is required for the purposes of the Regulations -
So far it has not been necessary to make provision on a large scale,
and if the necessity did arise the ship would be detained until temporary accommodati
ashore had been found.
(d) Hospital accommodation available for Plague, Cholera, Yellow Fever, Smallpox
and other infectious diseases -
Denton Hospital having been transferred to the Seamen's Group of
Hospitals attached to the Southeast Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board, arrangemei
have been made for a patient or patients suffering from a major infectious disease
to be removed to Denton Hospital pending arrangements for the transference of such
cases to the appropriate hospital under the management of the South-East Metropolis
Regional Hospital Board.
(e) Ambulance Transport -
The launch "Howard Deighton" used by the Medical Officers as a boarding
launch is fitted with an ambulance room on deck with accommodation for four stretohei
cases or eight miking cases.
The middle river launch the "Alfred Robertson" has a fairly spacious aft*
cabin in -which a patient could be carried but it would only be used as such in an
emergency.
The m.l. "Alfred Roach" is constructed to carry three stretcher cases.
(8)