[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London].

  • Port of London (London, England). County Council.
Date:
[1947]
Catalogue details

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

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

    9/26 (page 9)
    Notifications to the Authority of inward vessels requiring medical attention - Arrangements are in force by which the General Post Office telephone direct to the Medical Officer on duty on the Hygeia all messages received, by the North Foreland Radio Station from vessels in accordance with the instructions on the Declaration of Health. There is always a Medical Officer on duty, a launch avail able and, although Denton Hospital has not yet been re-opened for the reception of cases, arrangements have been made for Infectious oases to be admitted to hospitals at Grays Thurrock and Colchester. Occasionally a vessel voluntarily sends a full Quarantine Message in code, which is deciphered by the Medical Officer from Volume II (Radio) of the International Code of Signals, but practically all messages are received direct from the ships, but when some serious infectious sickness has occurred on board, advance information is received from the Ministry of Health through the Information Bureau of the International Health Offices. Ships requiring medical attention are required to fly the flag signal LIM during the day and to flash Q on their morse lamp by night when approaching Gravesend, both signals meaning Medical Officer required. Mooring Stations designated under Article 10 - Owing to enemy action certain of the mooring stations designated by the Port of London Authority are no longer in existence and the question of alternative moorings is now the subject of correspondence with the Port of London Authority. Particulars of any Standing Exemptions from the provisions of Article 14.- No standing exemptions have been made in regard to ships proceeding above Gravesend but the question of exemption for certain vessels, particularly 'oil tankers' proceeding up the River Medway and to Thameshaven, is at present the sub ject of correspondence with the Waterguard Superintendent of His Majesty's Customs and Excise, Experience of working Article 16 - (1) As ships are cleared in the River immediately on arrival, no difficulty has been experienced in preventing the embarkation or disembarkation of unauthorised persons. (2) When a ship arrives which has on board a case of one of the major infec tious diseases or on which such a case has died or has been landed abroad within the incubation period of the particular disease, it is the practice to regard every person on board as a contact and accordingly to arrange for his observation or sur veillance . Those persons intending to leave the ship must give their names and addresses before leaving and this is done by issuing such persons with a specially prepared double post-card, on one half of which he gives full details of his name and the address to which he is proceeding immediately on disembarkation and the other half he is asked to keep and use only should he change his address during a specified period. This half of the card is on the Business Reply Card system so that the person concerned does not have to stamp it. What, if any, arrangements have been made for (a) Premises and waiting rooms for medical examination - Medical examinations are usually carried out on board ship but there are rooms available for the medical inspection of Aliens on the Tilbury Landing Stage. (b) Cleansing and disinfection of ships, persons and clothing and other articles Disinfection of infected quarters is usually carried out by the Sanitary (9)