[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington].

  • Paddington (London, England). Parish. Vestry.
Date:
[1870]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: City of London, London Metropolitan Archives

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    7 Sanitary Inspection of Dwellings. Systematic Sanitary inspection has been carried on during the quarter in the following places :—Polygon Mews, Stanley, Alexander, Lanark, and some other Mewses. Completed returns of several highly populated streets can now be added to those already published in my Quarterly Reports. North Wharf Road, Iron Gate Wharf, Carlton and Andover Place, in Table VI., are the worst conditioned places in the Parish of Paddington, and are constantly under sanitary inspection. A Public Disinfecting Establishment. On the 13th of November, the Sanitary and Public Health Committee directed me to report in detail the steps necessary for carrying out Disinfection in this Parish in an adequate and effectual manner. I refer to that report, which enters most fully into the subject, showing urgent need of a public disinfecting establishment, and the probablity is of it being a self-supporting institution in this wealthy and populous Parish. The deaths from scarlet fever alone during the last 4 years have been 268, representing about ten times the actual cases of disease, scarcely any one of which, whether in the house of rich or poor, have had the opportunity of properly effecting the disinfection of woollen clothes, curtains, blankets, carpets and bedding which retain the contagion. Is it therefore surprising that the epidemic continues to extend ? Persons are willing and anxious to pay for this accommodation. Sanitary Authorities do not pretend to carry out this kind of work for the people, inasmuch as, first, they known not of the whereabouts of the fresh cases as they appear ; secondly, if they did, the proper responsibility lies with the persons themselves, except in eases of poverty, where powers are given to execute the duty. The • consideration of the subject was postponed for six months. Uses of Trees in Towns. I was requested to report upon the alleged nuisance of trees overhanging the street in Victoria Place, Talbot Road. Amongst the minor nuisances complained of, were those of obstruction to light in some windows, and to gutters and gullies by falling leaves in Autumn. The benefit, however, of their shade in keeping rooms cool in summer, and above all, the purification of air by absorbing carbonic acid and exhaling pure oxygen, far out-weigh any little inconvenience. I consider that trees in towns ought to be better protected and cared for by public authority. The Committee did not sanction the removal of the trees.