Report by Professor W.J. Simpson on sanitary matters in various West African colonies and the outbreak of plague in the Gold Coast.
- William Simpson
- Date:
- 1909
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Report by Professor W.J. Simpson on sanitary matters in various West African colonies and the outbreak of plague in the Gold Coast. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
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![this inter-provincial and inter-colonial risk of infection there are risks arising from the increasing trade of West Africa with European ports. Cholera is a disease from which West Africa has hitherto been free, and owing to the bad water supply in the country generally it is of the highest importance that every precaution shall be taken to prevent the introduction of a disease which would he more destructive than plague. V, To insure a continuous policy. Composition, of /proposed sanitary organisation. (40) 1 recommend a sanitary organisation which shall consist of :— («) A special health department in each colony, small in its constituent numbers, whose members should be specially trained and wh(jse whole time should be devoted to public health duties. {b) The medical officers in each station, who are now designated health officers for the station, but who at present are under no expert guidance or control in sanitary matters. The special health department in each colony would be best formed by making it a branch of the West African Medical Staff, separate in its functions and not transferable to other medical duties. The department in each colony should be under a Sanitary Commissioner, but, as the whole sanitary organisation includes the medical officers of the different stations in the colony who would have to be in sanitary matters under the Control of the Sanitary Commissioner, it would be advisable, in order to prevent friction fi'om a dual system of control, for the vSanitary Commissioner to be subordinate to the Principal Medical Officer as President of the Central Board of Health, but yet in sanitary matters to be recoo-nised as the expert and as the responsible officer. The executive control of the health organisation should be completely under the Sanitary Commissioner. It would be advisable that no medical officer of the West African Medical Staff should be eligible to enter the special health branch or department until he has been four or live years in the colony as an ordinary medical officer, and no officer should hold a public health appointment unless he holds or takes within a certain time of his appoint- ment a diploma in pul)lic health and a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene. The pay of the department should be high so as to attract able officers and satisfy them with their prospects. When once in the department promotion should l:)e in that branch up to the Sanitary Commissioner and not in the medical branch leading to the Principal Medical Officership. More detailed account of the suggested organization. (41) With this explanation I would suggest the following organization :— 1. A Sanitary Commissioner and Deputy Sanitary Commissioner for each Colony except Sierra Leone, which might be combined Avith the (jam])ia. 2. A central Board of Health for each Colony on which should be The Principal Medical Officer as President, \ The Sanitary Commissioiier, VMembers. The Director of l-*ublic Works, ) Under the Director of Public Works there should be a Sanitary Engineer whos(^ duties are entirely and exclusively to carry out and supervise sanitary work. The appointment of the principal medical officer as an ex-officio member of the Executive or Legislative Council to secure due consideration of sanitary measures advised by the Central Board of Health as well as medical matters. 4. Special health officers for certain towns and districts. Thus a health officer for Lagos and its suburbs, a health officer for Accra and the district behind it, a health officer for Cape Coast and its district, a health officer for Sekondi and its district including Tarquah, and a health officer for Free- town and its suburbs. These with their assistants would also form an organized port medical service. 5. The recognition of the medical officer of the station as health officer and in sanitary matters under the orders of the Sanitary Commissioner and De})uty Sanitary Commissioner. 6. The training of a sul)ordinate medical service for the duties of assistant medical officers of health, medical inspectors, vaccinators, and sanitary inspectors and assistants in laboratories. 7. The appointment of young and qualified engineers in place of many of the fore-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21365398_0027.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
