Dr. E.P. Manby's report to the Local Government Board upon the sanitary circumstances and administrtion of the Holywell Registration District.

  • Manby, E.P. (Edward Petronell)
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Dr. E.P. Manby's report to the Local Government Board upon the sanitary circumstances and administrtion of the Holywell Registration District. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    disposal of excreta and house refuse thereon. The inspectors of nuisances have not to any large extent pressed for the conversion of privy-middens, which constitute the prevailing method of disposal of excreta $nd house refuse in the district, into pail-closets, and the medical officers of health have taken no strong line in this respect. Many privy-middens were found to be foul, and more or less dilapidated, and there are too many instances in which one of these conveniences is shared by two or three families. This arrangement does not make for cleanliness and decency, and the Council should see that separate closet accommodation is provided, as far as possible, for every house in their district. The registers relating to dairies, cowsheds and milks hops are out of date, and they still contain the names of persons who live in Connah’s Quay and Buckley, which no longer form part of the rural district. Most of the cowsheds are deficient in their lighting, and many are dirty, and badly paved. Good advice in regard to these matters has been tendered by the medical officers of health in annual and other reports, but little or no attention has been paid to the systematic inspection of cowsheds throughout the district. The number of bakehouses and of slaughter-houses in the district is unknown, and no registers are kept. Five slaughter-houses visited were found to be dirty, others, although old in structure, were fairly well kept. A very dirty bakehouse was seen at Caerwys. At Mostyn a most unsuitable underground bakehouse exists, and at Gronant there is one lighted only by borrowed light from a cellar. At a Gwern-y-mynydd bakehouse bread was found to be stored in close proximity to pig wash, dirty linen and decaying bones. Dwelling-houses in the Holywell Rural District are fairly clean, as a rule, and I was informed that the habits of the people have undergone in this respect very marked improvement of recent years. Many houses are very old, and at Bagillt especially a number of decayed and uninhabitable dwellings exist. Dampness of house walls is frequently met with, and many houses are either back-to- back or are wanting in through ventilation. At Greenfield, Bagillt, and Dublin Row, much insanitary property exists, but with syste- matic attention from the sanitary officers this could be improved, or where improvement was not possible closure of the houses could be brought about. The only accommodation available for the isolation of cases of infectious sickness in this large district is a small corrugated iron hospital at Bedw for small-pox. Both the medical officers of health are engaged in general medical practice, and neither of the inspectors of nuisances possess the certificate of the Royal Sanitary Institute, or similar examining body. In the northern division of the district there is more work to be done than is possible by one inspector, and in consequence systematic inspections are the exception rather than the rule. Mr. J. P. Jones, the inspector for this district, is very earnest and hard working, but he is wanting in system. With a fully trained and energetic medical officer of health over him, upon whose advice and support he could rely, I believe Mr. J. P. Jones would prove a very satisfactory officer. To some extent the same is true of Mr. E. W. Jones, the inspector for the southern