Remarks on the study and practice of public medicine : being the introductory address, delivered at the opening of the winter session at University College, London, October 4th, 1875 / by W.H. Corfield.

  • Corfield, W. H. (William Henry), 1843-1903.
Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks on the study and practice of public medicine : being the introductory address, delivered at the opening of the winter session at University College, London, October 4th, 1875 / by W.H. Corfield. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    pull down whole areas of houses where they cannot be altered so as to be put in a proper sanitary condition. So far, so good. But we want, as I said, power over new houses. The medical officer of health must also be acquainted with all matters relating to air-supply and ventilation, especially of public buildings—theatres, churches, etc.— and with the sanitary arrangements of hospitals, workhouses, asylums, and prisons, which have long since been cleared of the jail fever, and which are now so well constructed and managed that one of our sanitary authorities has said that they are “ the only places fit to live in”. He must be prepared to advise in cases of overcrowding, and to give his opinion on all cases of complaints of nuisances of any kind, and to support that opinion by evidence if need be. He must be ac- quainted with all the methods for the removal of refuse matters, and know the advantage of each, and the conditions under which it may be applied. His advice is asked on all such important matters as the ventilation of sewers, the treatment of sewage, the cleansing of streets, etc., as well as on water-supply and purification. He must be acquainted with the injury to health which is caused by various trades and employments, and with the methods of preventing it, and also with the arrangements for keeping animals in a proper condition, slaughtering cattle and disposing of offal. He must be able to use his microscope, not to mention a number of other instruments of research. He must be acquainted with the ways in which epidemic diseases spread, and with the means to prevent them spreading. Let me give you two examples which came under my own notice. A man came home to a small town, feeling unwell : he had, as it turned out, typhoid fever ; proper precautions had not been taken, and the disease spread all over the town (a very dirty one), and caused quite a panic. In the other case, a boy came home to a village ill with the same disease ; the medical man recognised it, took the proper precautions, and not another case occurred in the village outside of that cottage ; whereas, in the same village, before those precautions were taken, an epidemic had several times taken place. Thus there is now room for specialists. One versed in sanitary matters is often nowa- days consulted as to the sanitary condition of a house, especially where cases of lever have occurred. Then the medical officer of health must be a statistician, and, to a certain extent, know how to prepare statistical tables, and to draw correct results from them; and he must be an analytical chemist, too, to a certain extent, though he need not have such an extensive and accurate knowledge as that required by a public analyst ; and he should also be acquainted with sanitary law and with the proceedings of law courts upon such matters.