[Report 1908] / Medical Officer of Health, Torquay Borough.

  • Torquay (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1908] / Medical Officer of Health, Torquay Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    39/70 (page 37)
    Common Lodging Houses. There are six registered common lodging houses. They are regularly inspected and found in a fairly satisfactory condition, but require regular supervision to keep them up to the mark. One lodging house has been closed, but the owner has opened another in a different district. This house was thoroughly inspected and the drainage tested before being registered. Housing of the Working Classes. The members of the working classes are on the whole well housed. A considerable improvement is being effected in certain tenement houses off Pimlico known as Spring Place. One house has been removed, a row of four cottages made into three, and the whole of the sanitary arrangements reconstructed. Port Sanitary Inspection. In March, Dr. Reece, one of the Local Government Board’s Medical Inspectors, visited Torquay, in the course of a survey of English Ports, for the purpose of ascertaining the provision made by the various Authorities for dealing with the possible introduction of Cholera, Plague, &c. He met a number of members of the Council and various Officials. After making his investigations, he pointed out the possible dangers of the introduction of Cholera, and suggested various lines of action. He pointed out that the sanitary inspection of vessels calling at Torquay had not been carried out as a routine duty, and stated that in future the Board would insist on this being done. He requested the Council to consider the subject, and make the necessary arrangements. After several meetings, when the results of enquiries from a number of Port Sanitary Authorities were laid before the Committee, it was decided that Mr. Watson should carry out the work under the Medical Officer of Health. We then visited Dartmouth and met the Port Medical Officer and Inspector, who gave us every information as to their methods and the records kept. Since that date (September) the work of inspection has been regularly carried out, as will be seen from Mr. Watson’s report. The Harbour Master has been instructed to notify us of the arrival of all vessels, when they are inspected by one or both of us. During the year no case of illness has been reported from any vessel entering the Port. The average number of vessels arriving from foreign ports during the past four years is 15 per annum.