View report page

25
house inspection as required by statute. It should also be
remembered that the sanitary inspectors have certain responsibilities,
such as the investigation of infectious disease cases,
which must take priority over the repair of houses.
Very considerable difficulty arises whenever a sanitary
inspector is away on annual leave or due to sickness, and it is
obvious that when each inspector is having difficulty in coping
with the work on his own district he can spare little time to attend
to the needs of the adjoining district which is temporarily without
the services of its sanitary inspector. The consequence is that
arrears of work accumulate.
From time to time I have reported to the Public Health
Committee lists of premises concerning which complaint has been
received but which a sanitary inspector has not been able to visit.
At one period during the year there were approximately 700 such
premises and at that time there were possibly 2,000 premises
which the inspectors had not been able to re-visit to ascertain
whether or not action had been taken as requested by notices
served on owners.
The standard of "sanitary environment" in the Borough has
materially altered as a result of the war.
Owing to the housing situation, almost all houses in the
Borough have been converted into "tenements or houses let in
lodgings" including those held under requisition by this Council.
Premises so occupied are subject to the application of the Bylaws
as to Houses let in Lodgings. These Bylaws were framed in the
knowledge that houses occupied by more than one family require
certain facilities in order to make them reasonably habitable.
With regard to the Food and Drugs Act, it has only been
possible to carry out the duties in respect of sampling, the
licensing or registration of premises as occasion requires, and the
surrender of unsound food by traders. This surrender of unsound
food is a voluntary measure which has become a practice because
traders have to obtain a condemnation certificate in order to
receive replacement of points and permits to which the goods
relate. The other essential parts of the Food and Drugs Act
relating to the cleanliness of premises, cleanliness of food and
processes of handling and manufacture connected therewith have,
of necessity, not received the attention which is required.
Public health work should be mainly preventive work, and it
reflects great discredit to have to deal with complaints of grossly
contaminated food such as are received at the present time, as,
for instance, rat dirt, beetles and cigarette ends in bread because,