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9
efficient treatment at the Cleansing Station have all contributed
their quota. It is hoped that the end of the need for a crowded
communal existence in public air-raid shelters will result in a still
further improvement as regards verminous conditions.
The work of the maternity and child welfare centres was
interrupted to some extent by the V. weapon attacks for it was
considered unwise to continue clinic work on the upper floors of
the Centre premises and it became necessary, in order to concentrate
the work on the ground floors, to close the actinotlherapy clinics.
Attendances of infants declined steeply when the flying-bomb
attacks commenced but the ante-natal clinics were very fully
attended throughout the year.
The war-time day nurseries continued to provide first-class
service for that section of the infant population of the Borough
which needed it.
The work of the Sanitary Inspectors continued under everincreasing
difficulty and much of their time was taken up in dealing
with complaints by tenants of war-damaged properties. The
greatest possible care has been taken to restrict the service of notices
so as to call only for the repair of defects which were prejudicial
to healtlh and thus avoid adding to the acute labour difficulty
in the building trades. Twenty-three summonses were issued
against the owners of 22 houses in the Borough in order to secure
compliance with statutory notices, and further proceedings were
necessary in three cases where owners had failed to comply with
magistrates' orders to abate nuisances.
The entire staff of the Department has continued to give
excellent service under extraordinary difficult circumstances. The
fact that so many of the staff suffered damage to their homes from
enemy action in degrees varying from total loss to minor blast
damage, and yet continued with hardly a break to serve the public,
is in itself a testimonial to the staff. Those of its members who
were seconded to the Civil Defence Casualty Services continued to
give unselfishly of their time, and the Nursery staffs bore cheerfully
the very heavy responsibility of the care of numbers of young
children who had to be shepherded backwards and forwards between
the Nurseries and the air-raid shelters.
Finally, I have to acknowledge the continued support of the
Chairmen and members of the Public Health and Maternity and
Child Welfare Committees which has contributed to the smooth
working of the Department despite the handicaps of present
conditions.
G. H. DART,
Medical Officer of Health,