HH62/45/33

Transcription

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The condition of the houses of the working classes in the District is good.
There is generally ample provision for ventilation, the difficulty being to get the
occupants to make use of it; but there is a great want of conveniences in connection
with the houses.
During the year the Chief Sanitary Inspector furnished the Committee with a
full Report on the Drainage of Auchterarder. It would be well that effect were
speedily given to his suggestions, in the matter of laying down a proper system of
sewers, and providing for discharge of the effluent, so as to prevent the pollution
of the neighbouring stream. At the same time it would be desirable to make an
extensive alteration of the houses and their surroundings, in various parts of the
village.
The Central District Committee has shown a good example to the rest of the
County by providing scavengers for all the large villages from the general rates, and
if, besides keeping the streets clean, these men were employed in emptying ashpits,
&c., the system would be most beneficial. At present the heaps of house refuse,
found in immediate proximity to dwelling-houses, are a constant source of weak
health and a high death rate. Nothing will make such a speedy improvement upon
the general health of the villages as the regular removal of the above, and the
consequent purification of the soil, which is now, in many instances, soaking with
poisonous organic matter. In fact, until such a measure is adopted, these villages
will be only superficially clean, and therefore the more dangerous.
In the Central District the Sub-District Medical Officers have been retained,
and during the past year these officials have proved of immense service by their
energetic action in stamping out infectious disease at its very beginning, and thus
preventing a panic in a part of the County much frequented by summer visitors, at a
time when such a panic would have meant serious pecuniary loss to the inhabitants
of the District.
2. During the year general systematic inspections have been made into the sanitary
condition of the more populous parts of the District, when the soil, geological
formation, water supplies, general house accommodation, and sanitary condition of the
houses were noted. Special enquiries have also been necessitated in consequence of
complaints of defective water supplies, or the outbreak of infectious disease on
various occasions.
The accommodation provided by the Contractors for the workmen employed in
the construction of the new Crieff and Comrie Railway has been supervised, and
many suggestions have been carried out. The accommodation is now in a very fair
sanitary condition, though there is a deficiency int he cubic air space of the huts. It
has not been considered advisable to interfere on this ground, so long as the huts are
kept clean, and well ventilated. The reasons for this decision are found in the
airy situation of the huts, and the fact that the men are continually in the open air
when at work, together with the circumstance that the while erection is of a
temporary character. So far there has been no cause to regret the course taken, as
every endeavor has been made by the Contractors to carry out suggestions given;
and had the huts been placed on the register as common lodging-houses strained
relations would probably have ensued.
As Quarterly Excerpts have been sent to the Committee from the Medical
Officer's Journal, relative to work done in the District, it is unnecessary to say more
than that in every instance in which suggestions were made, they were carried out, and
in the majority of cases this was done most willingly.

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3. No prosecutions have taken place in the District under the Public Health Act.
No advice has been required regarding the sanitary condition of Factories, and no
offensive trade has been notified during the year.
The Public Health Sub-Committee consulted the Medical Officer once, viz. -
regarding the proposed Dairy Regulations, and it is hoped that, in future, the Sub-
Committee will consult their Officers when discussing matters relating to Public
Health, as, until such a course is adopted, sanitation can proceed only in a very
unsatisfactory manner.
4. During the year many visits have been made to the 18 retail Bakehouses in the
District. They have all been put into good order, although in some cases the
alterations required were very extensive. Nuisances in the shape of ashpits, &c.,
which were too near the windows or doors of Bakehouses, have all now been abated.
In four Bakehouses young persons were found to be employed, and these were
reported to H.M. Inspector of Factories.
5. No definite arrangement has yet been made for providing accommodation for
infectious diseases occurring in the District. Cases requiring to be removed to
Hospital for better isolation have, during the past year, been received by the Perth
Royal Infirmary. As Senior Visiting Surgeon to that Institution, the Chief District
Medical Officer has, under the Directors, the full supervision of all the arrange-
ments in connection with the treatment of fever cases there, and it is on his
suggestion that negotiations have been begun for the treatment of infectious cases
from the Central District in the Perth Infirmary. Should the agreement
be completed with the Directors of the Perth Infirmary, there would be,
for the period of five years, sixty beds at the command of the District Committee
for the treatment of any infectious disease, except smallpox. The Steam
Disinfector (Goddard, Massey, & Warner's), which it is proposed to erect, would also
be available for the disinfecting of bedding and other articles, and the Infirmary
Directors intend, in the event of the Local Authorities agreeing to use their Wards,
to equip the Infirmary with the latest and best machinery for dealing with infected
clothing in every shape.
Should Perth be chosen as the centre to which infectious cases from the various
Districts are to be removed, it would be possible to have an Ambulance Waggon,
replete with every known contrivance for ease and expedition of removal, kept there
for the removal of cases from any required point.
6. With a view to prevent the outbreak and spread of infectious disease in the
District, many improvements have been carried out in connection with the removal
of dangerous nuisances, and providing wholesome drinking water, under the
directions of the Chief District Sanitary Inspector, and his assistants. No steps
have been taken to introduce the Infectious Diseases (Notification) Act in the Central
District, and, as yet, notification by the local Medical and Sanitary staff has proved
efficient, 42 cases having been notified during the past year.
In dealing with one group of diphtheria cases, in which nearly all the members of
a family were affected, and where it was impossible to remove the patients to Hospital,
it was deemed advisable to employ a nurse at the expense of the District, with a
view to prevent the disease from spreading. In a case of measles which occurred in a
common lodging-house (the child of a tramp), it was found best to isolate the patient
in a room of the same house, until the danger of infection was over. The necessary
expenses were, in this case also, borne by the District. Two cases of enteric fever
were removed to the Perth Royal Infirmary, and treated there free of charge. Other

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