[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Giles District].

  • St. Giles (London, England). District Council.
Date:
1866
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Giles District]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    14 promote the same objects and to supply a machinery tor the demolition of notoriously unhealthy dwellings has been introduced into the House of Com mons by Mr. Torrens, the Member for the Borough in which St. Giles's is situated. The principle of these Bills has been welcomed by all who have sanitary progress at heart. In the latter half of 1865, cholera prevailed epidemically in several cities of the Continent, and notably Paris, (which is more than any other foreign city in communication with England), suffered seriously from the disease. In our own country a few cases happened at Southampton, aud others nearer to London at Epping. These occurrences, together with the high mortality of the Metropolis from diarrhoea in the autumn, produced in the mind of those who had watched the progress of former epidemics, considerable anxiety for the autumn of 1866. It was felt, however, that before the time when it was likely that cholera would prevail in London, there was a period in which measures might be adopted for removing conditions that had demonstrably assisted in the extension of cholera on former occasions. It is in presence of impure air and foul water that cholera, following the direction of human inter course, assumes the proportion of an epidemic. To advise that all such conditions should be remedied wherever existing in the Metropolis, and to point out the best means of remedying them in their several districts, appeared to the Officers of Health to be their plain duty. In St. Giles's district at the first meeting of the Sanitary Committee in 1866 the need of extraordinary vigilance and of special means of sewerage, disinfection, cleanliness, water supply improvement aud inspection was brought under consideration. In consequence of these representations the Board obtained from their Surveyor a report as to the state of the sewers and have already at the date of this report nearly completed the construction of two important new sewers in Dudley Street and New Compton Street in lieu of old imperfect sewers. This will put in a better state of defence one of our poorest districts which (it has been shown in this report) had last year the highest mortality from diarrhoea. The construction of another large sewer in Southampton Row was resolved on, but has been postponed for a time at the wish of the residents there. Russell and Coram Places have been supplied with pipe sewers. Means of disinfecting the sewage of the district throughout the summer months have been adopted. A few charcoal ventilators have been fixed experimentally to certain sewers. The arrangements for scavenging and dust removal have been frequently con sidered with a view to obtaining special effectiveness through the coming hot weather. And a second Sanitary inspector has been engaged to assist in the work of house inspection and to procure the removal of nuisances. The public pumps of the district whose water is very impure and in seasons of epidemic cholera especially dangerous have been locked up and employed only for street watering. And an application of the Board for a supply of water on Sundays throughout certain poor districts of St. Giles' has been assented to by the New River Company. In the event of cholera attacking the Metropolis, it may be hoped that these precautionary measures, with others that will be taken by the Board, may cause the epidemic to fall lightly on our district. If happily we should not have cholera, the precautions against it that have been taken will bear their fruits in an improvement in the conveniences and general health of the parishioners. GEORGE BUCHANAN, M.D. June, 1866.