[Report 1900] / Medical Officer of Health, Plymouth Borough and Port.

  • Plymouth (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1900] / Medical Officer of Health, Plymouth Borough and Port. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/94 (page 11)
    General and Systematic Inspection.— Systematic work has been, during the year, considerably interfered with owing to pressure of general work, although a considerable amount has been accomplished, as you will see by the number of inspections made. The great proportion of tenement houses in the Borough make systematic inspection absolutely necessary, especially the jerry built houses that are being erected in such numbers each year, designed for one family and occupied by several. The condition of these houses after a few years’ habitation will, I am afraid, be deplorable. During the year 11,155 visits of inspection have been made by the Sanitary Staff, 2000 house drains have been tested by smoke machine or water, 1647 notices to abate nuisances or carry out sanitary improvements have been served upon owners or occupiers, 1560 of which have been complied with, leaving a balance of 87 to be carried forward. The result of this work has been that 2815 sanitary improvements have been effected. Food and Drugs Act and Food Inspection.—The In¬ spectors appointed for the carrying out of the above work seized and condemned some 13 tons of meat, and 4 tons 3 cwt. of fish. 211 samples of food and drugs have been taken and sub¬ mitted to the Public Analyst for examination, 12 of which were found to be adulterated ; nine offenders were prosecuted, and in each case a conviction was obtained. Amongst the articles sampled were beer, spirits, butter, pepper, ginger, cheese, milk, lard, margarine, preserves, and vinegar. Cowsheds, Dairies, Milkshops, and Bakehouses. — Periodical systematic inspections of the above have been as usual carried out during the year, and no outbreak of disease has been traced to any of the dairies within the borough, although a somewhat serious outbreak was directly traced to a hawker of milk owning a dairy in a rural district on the