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10
The Sanitary Inspectors have carried out their duties under
difficult conditions as far as these Acts are concerned. This side
of the department, as I have pointed out previously, is understaffed,
and in the event of an outbreak of an epidemic no adequate
control of contacts would be possible with the present
staff of Sanitary Inspectors.
The School Medical Service has again been carried out with
efficiency. The fact that 93 per cent. of the defects of vision
detected were remedied testifies to the efficiency of the work
carried out by Mr. Charsley, and the appreciation of it by Ilford
parents. The Council is fortunate in having such a skilled
Ophthalmic Surgeon on its staff.
The work of the Dental Department in Mr. Soutter.s skilled
hands has increased considerably, although the premises in which
the School Clinic work is carried out are far from ideal.
During the year he has treated 2,775 children, in addition
to 194 expectant and nursing mothers, and 108 tuberculous
patients.
The provision of an open-air school is now before the Education
Committee, and will ere long, I hope, become an accomplished
fact. This is a true Public Health measure, it is a poor
policy to provide sanatoria for the adult if no attempt is made
to increase the resistance of the susceptible child. There is still
no adequate provision for mentally defective children in Ilford.
The attendance of these children at ordinary schools neither
benefits their teachers or the normal children in the school, while
the mental defectives themselves suffer from the lack of the special
training they require. It is hoped that the scheme which was
postponed by the Board of Education will shortly be proceeded
with.
The Census figures which are given in the Report are
instructive. They show that at the time of the Census there were
508 families of 882 persons living in one room, while there were
1,257 families of 3,045 persons occupying two rooms.
These conditions, while not as bad as in other districts, do
not favour the health of a district.
The Census figures also show that 21,749 persons living in
Ilford find their daily employment outside the district, while 6,901
persons not resident in the district yet are employed within it.
It is surprising with such a population daily coming in and
out of Ilford that we are not more attacked by epidemic disease.
I think the body of the Report, which is mainly statistical,
will show that the health services of the town are being as
efficiently carried out as is possible under present conditions.
I have again to thank the members of the staff for the way
in which they have assisted me, and the members of the Council,
and the co-opted members of the responsible committees for the
support I have received.
I am, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient Servant,
A. H. G. BURTON,
Medical Officer of Health.