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
West Ham 1893
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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4,000 feet, and an examination of columns 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the table below, extracted from his report,
leads to the same conclusion as that derived from Dr. Power's report, although to a less extent in consequence
of the area under examination being smaller.
Showing for the thirteen months from February, 1887, to March 17th, 1888, the number of acute cases of small-pox received into the Borough Hospital, Winter Street, and the extent to which houses in the special areas within 4,000 feet of the hospital, and houses in the rest of the Borough oi Sheffield, were newly infected by small-pox.
| Total Acute Small-pox Cases received into Hospitals within the Borough of Sheffield. | Average Daily Number of Small-pox Patients under Treatment in Borough Hospital, Winter Street. | Acute Cases of Small-pox admitted to Borough Hospital, Winter Street. | PERIODS. | Within 4,000 feet of the Hospital Houses becoming newly infected, of which situate | In the Borough of Sheffield, Houses becoming newly infected. | The same in Rates per cent. of Houses. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1000 ft. from Hospital. | . In Zone 1000-2000 ft. from Hospital. | In Zone 2000-3000 ft. from Hospital. | In Zone 3000-4000 ft. from Hospital. | In special area within 4000 ft. of Hospital. | In the rest of the Borough. | 0-1000 ft. Circle. | 1000-2000 ft. Zone. | 2000-3000 ft. Zone. | 3000-4000 ft. Zone. | In the Special Area. | In the rest of the Borough. | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 1,775 | — | 1,144 | Whole Period from commencement of Epidemic to 17th March, 1888. | 225 | 599 | 595 | 811 | 2,230 | 2,866 | 19.74 | 17.55 | 10.46 | 10.19 | 12.26 | 6.37 |
| 18.10 | 10.29 | ||||||||||||||
The foregoing tables suggest that small-pox hospitals should not, if possible, be erected within about
one mile of a crowded district.
(4.) Ample accommodation for patients and staff. It is an impossibility to accurately estimate the
amount of accommodation which will be just enough for the wants of West Ham, and yet it is highly
desirable to form such an estimate, as if the accommodation be insufficient the Council will be unable
to cope with an epidemic of small-pox, while if the accommodation provided be too large the annual cost of
maintaining a large building which is only occasionally used, but which, as I said before, must be kept ever
in readiness, would be a standing thorn in the side of the Finance Committee. It will be within the
recollection of the Public Health Committee that the question of the (very small) annual outlay in
maintaining our present Cottage Hospital, the salaries of officials, their maintenance, &c., came up for
discussion just prior to the outbreak of the present small-pox epidemic. Another reason for limiting so far