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

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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London

Hackney 1948

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]

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Table: PUBLIC MORTUARY.Details of the bodies deposited in the Public Mortuary during the year are given in the following table: —

PUBLIC MORTUARY.

Details of the bodies deposited in the Public Mortuary during the year are given in the following table: —

Persons dying in Hackney.Persons dying elsewhere.Total.
Number of bodies deposited in the mortuary295151446
1. To await inquests(a) Infectious———
(b) Non-Infectious211738
2. To await burial213
3. Cause of death certified by Coroner272133405
Number of post-mortem examinations made293149442

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SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AREA
Sanitary Inspection.
Several staff changes occurred during 1948, and the Department
was under-staffed for sanitary inspectors throughout the
whole of this period.
The general position in relation to staff, and the difficulties
encountered in the work of sanitary inspection, are reviewed in
succeeding paragraphs.
Section 9 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, reads as
follows: —
" 9—(1) Every sanitary authority shall appoint an
adequate number of persons to be sanitary inspectors.
(2) If, on a representation made by the County
Council and after local enquiry, the Minister is satisfied that
a sanitary authority have failed to appoint an adequate
number of sanitary inspectors, he may by order require the
sanitary authority to appoint such number of additional
sanitary inspectors, and to allow them such remuneration,
as may be specified in the order, and the sanitary authority
shall comply with that order."
In the period immediately prior to September, 1939, the
Council employed 23 sanitary inspectors as follows: —
1 Chief Sanitary Inspector,
1 Senior Housing Inspector,