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32
Aged and Infirm Persons Living Under Insanitary Conditions.
—Action was necessary during the year as regards seven aged and
infirm persons who were living alone in sadly neglected conditions
as a result of their inability properly to care for themselves or to
receive care and attention from other persons. In one case the
person concerned voluntarily entered hospital following visits by
the district Sanitary Inspector and Medical Officer of Health and
in one case it was necessary to take action under Section 224 of
the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, and a Magistrates' Order
was secured authorising compulsory removal to and detention in
hospital. In two cases it was possible to secure an improvement
ill the conditions and thus to obviate the necessity for removing
the persons to hospital, and the remaining three persons died
within a few days of the conditions being reported to the
Department.
Common Lodging House.—There is now only one common
lodging house in the Borough, situated at 23 and 25, Well Street,
and this lodging house provides accommodation for 174 men.
At the annual census of homeless persons carried out during
the night of 23rd/24th February, 130 men were found to be
accommodated. Nine inspections of the common lodging house
were made during the year and on each occasion the premises were
found to be in a satisfactory condition.
Oiitworkers.—Employers of outworkers in certain classes of
work are required to keep lists of the names and addresses of all
outworkers employed by them and to send twice annually (in
February and August) copies of such lists for the information of the
local authority. Thus the local authority is able to take steps to
ensure that the places in which the outworkers are employed are
not injurious or dangerous to the health of the workers and that
goods are not distributed from premises where there is dangerous
infectious disease.