[Report 1895] / Medical Officer of Health, Otley U.D.C.

  • Otley (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1895] / Medical Officer of Health, Otley U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Common Lodging- Houses. Slaughter Houses. Bake-Houses. Dairies, Cowsheds, and Milkshops. Offensive Trades. Sale of Food and Drugs. Factories and Workshops. Hospital for Infectious Diseases. suggest that it he done still more systematically, and that the refuse he cleared away at much shorter intervals and without the necessary notice form, but would clear the whole of the ashpits in one street at a time, commencing at one end of the town. In my house to house inspection I found the privy midden the greatest eyesore and nuisance, and it impressed on me the desire to establish a frequent, systematic and periodical scavenging. The scavenging has been carried out by the Council for nine months. I give below a table of the work and cost:— Notices Received. Emptied. Cost. 870 .. 864 .. £152 5s. lOd. The number of loads, 1,872; average cost, Is. 7£d. per load. Here we have a clear saving of £100, judging from the Contractor’s charges. In our annual inspection I reported on the filthy condition of the back-to-back houses in Nelson Street. This yard is one of the most insanitary parts of the town. In our report two years ago, it was named as one of the slums of the town; no mending or patch-work will ever put these houses in a sanitary condition. Look at the improvement in the other parts of the town reported, viz. : Paradise Square and Cambridge Alley. The old houses pulled down, new streets formed, and suitable healthy houses built. One, viz., the “Model.” This is kept in a very clean condition. It is regularly visited. During the year a man died in one of the rooms, and on the ground of sanitation, I ordered the body to be taken down to the mortuary. Thirteen; condition satisfactory. I received some complaints of suspicions about diseased meat being offered for sale. A strict watch was kept, and a pig was seized, but tho Police took the case in hand, as it had died from swine fever. No further cases have been reported. Seven ; all kept in a very clean condition. Dairy, 1 ; Cowsheds, 21 ; Milkshops, 16. They have been visited, but nothing has been reported, as the new regulations are in hand. They have been sent up to the Local Government Board along with the new Bye-Laws, and have not been returned. One fat-melter; one fell-monger. I have no complaints to make. Nothing has been done under this head. The Council decided to appoint Mr. Trow, Inspector, but through some informality the appointment was not carried out. Some inspection has been certainly carried out, but far from satisfactory. The Nuisance Inspector has only held the appointment six months, so it has been hardly possible to get all the work in. This is one of the most important improvements the town has carried out. It has rendered in the past good service. This year it has not been occupied. What infectious diseases we have had have been treated at home, because they considered there was sufficient room for efficient isolation. When the infective process is at an end, disinfection is carried out by the officers of, and at the expense of, the Council. I would suggest that the Council obtain a better form of ambulance to enable us to convey patients to and from the hospital.