[Report 1928] / Medical Officer of Health, St Andrews.

  • St. Andrews (Scotland). Council.
Date:
1928
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1928] / Medical Officer of Health, St Andrews. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    48/90 (page 46)
    D. Day Nursery. Year. 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 Number attending, Number of attend- 23 30 24 38 40 39 ances, 270 390 465 685 795 669 E. Ailing Babies Ward. Year. 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 Number admitted. Number of days in 1 4 4 7 3 2 8 Ward, 22 88 20 30 59 60 218 F. Infant Feeding. Year. 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 Per cent, breast fed, Per cent, partially 59 64 61 62 63 59 66 62 breast fed, (1 6 6 16 4 12 8 11 Per cent, bottle fed, 35 30 33 22 33 29 26 27 These figures need no explanation. The steady progress which has been made throughout the years provides a commendable indication of the nature of the work and of the increasing popu- larity of the various clinics. WATER SUPPLY. It was not to be expected that the improvements effected at the Water Works and in the catchment area in 1927 would com- pletely solve the problem of the bacteriological impurity of the water supply of the town, nevertheless, it was to be hoped that an improvement would follow. Intensive investigations, however, at the beginning of 1928 showed that the new filters were only half as efficient as they should be and that the old filters were ten to a hundred times below the level of efficiency. It was ascertained and the sand used as a filter medium in both old and new filters was not of sufficient fineness and in many filters of insufficient depth. There was evidence, too, that the process of filtration was unduly quickened in order to keep up a volume of water in the storage wells sufficient to supply the needs of the town. It was also clear that a higher standard of cleanliness was desirable at the water works. The Medical Officer of Health submitted a Report to the Water Committee on his bacteriological and other investigations of the water supply. He suggested that it was necessary that the