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20
East Barnet Valley Urban District Council.
Sanitary Inspector's Report
for the year 1920.
Gentlemen,
I have the honour of submitting the following Report on the
work of the Public Health Department, on behalf of the previous
Inspector who resigned, and for the remaining period of the year
following my appointment on September 6th, 1920, and compiled
from the records and books kept in accordance with the Ministry
of Health requirements.
Preparing statistics for a year in which a change of officials
has taken place is always difficult; especially when no cleiical
assistance is provided, the system of filing, indexing and
referencing is not so complete as one would deslie, and much
valuable data is lost.
To briefly state in words and show by means of figures what
has been accomplished is a simple matter, but it is difficult to convey
to you any idea of the work entailed in visiting people and
explaining to them the advantage of making sanitary, or the
disadvantage of making insanitary, any premises of which they
have the control.
In practice I take every opportunity to disseminate knowledge
as to what is meant by sound sanitation and hygiene amongst the
Public. If the Public better knew the reasons why Local
Authorities require certain laws and regulations to be observed,
and why Health Officers ask for certain measures to be carried
out, such officers would find less opposition to their work and
their demands. The general standard of houses is good. Inspections
under the Housing Acts for the most part reveal
defective roofs, dampness and want of cleaning, and lack of
attention to sanitary appliances.