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49
DUTIES OF THE MORTUARY KEEPER.
1.—The Mortuary Keeper shall be responsible to the Sanitary Committee.
2.—He shall be responsible for all arrangements connected with the care of the dead
bodies during the time they remain in the Mortuary.
3.—He shall keep a book in which he shall enter all such particulars with reference to
dead bodies brought to the Mortuary as the Sanitary Committee shall direct.
4.—He shall twice at least during each week wash throughout the two Mortuary
Chambers, the Post-Mortem Room, the Lavatories, and the Passages, and shall generally
keep the buildings clean and in good order.
5.—Any medical man intending to make a Post-Mortem Examination, and being
authorized to use the Post-Mortem Room for the purpose, shall give at least twelve hours'
notice of such intention to the Mortuary Keeper, who shall cause the dead body to be
placed upon the dissecting table in leadiness for such medical man at the hour appointed
by him, and, on the completion of such Post-Mortem Examination, shall cause that the
dead body be either replaced in the coffin in which it was brought to the Mortuary, or
placed in a shell ready for burial; and that the room, tables, and all utensils and
appliances be as soon as possible thoroughly cleansed.
6.—He shall report to the Sanitary Committee any infringement of the foregoing
regulations.
COMPULSORY REMOVAL OF DEAD BODIES TO MORTUARY.
By the 27th section of the Sanitary Act, 1866, it is enacted—"That when any dead
body of one who has died of any infectious disease is retained in a room in which persons
live or sleep, or any dead body which is in such a state as to endanger the health of the
inmates of the same house or room, is retained in such house or room, any Justice may,
on a certificate signed by a legally qualified medical practitioner, order the body to be
removed to such proper place of reception at the cost of the nuisance authority, and direct
the same to be buried within a time to be limited in such order."
By the 28th section of the same Act, the Coroner has the power to order the removal
of the body of any deceased person, upon whom he intends to hold an inquest, to the
Mortuary for the performance of a Post-Mortem Examination.
Signed, by order of the Sanitary Committee,
GEORGE PADDOCK BATE, M.D.,
Medical Officer of Health.
WASTE LAND IN NORFOLK STREET.
The site of the "Old Octagon" had become a receptacle for all kinds
of filth and refuse, and was a nuisance to the neighbourhood. It has
recently been let on a building lease, and a block of substantial houses
erected on the land.
SANITARY WORK.
I refer to table VI. in the Appendix for a summary of the work your
Inspectors are doing.