Annual report / Department of Public Health, Tasmania.

  • Tasmania. Department of Public Health.
Date:
[1934]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report / Department of Public Health, Tasmania. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/26
    Salus Populi Suprema Lex. ANNUAL REPORT, 1934. Department of Public Health, Hobart, 7th February, 1935. Sir, I HAVE the honour to present the Annual Report of the Department of Public Health for the year 1934. The delay which has occurred in presenting the report has been due to the fact that the vital statistics embodied therein were not available until the first week in June. Legislation.- The Department is principally concerned with the administration of the follow¬ ing laws:—Public Health, Food and Drugs, Hos¬ pitals, Places of Public Entertainment, Nurses’ Registration, Wages Boards, Factories, Workers’ Compensation, and Shops. Amendments of the Wages Boards, Factories, and Workers’ Compen¬ sation Acts were passed during the last session of Parliament, as well as an Act to make pro¬ vision for the establishment, maintenance, and conduct of crematories, and to provide for and regulate the cremation of human remains. Federal Health Council.—The Seventh Session of this Council was held at Canberra from the 20th to the 22nd March, when many important public health problems received attention. An interesting feature of this conference was a sum¬ mary of progress in public health in New South Wales during the period 1898 to 1933, by the Director-General of Public Health of that State. Co?iference of Instruction for Health Inspec¬ tors.—With the approval of the Minister, the Department held a conference of instruction for health inspectors at Launceston during the week commencing the 8th October for the purpose of assisting these officers, and, incidentally, local authorities, in the performance of their functions under the Public Health Act and kindred laws. Lectures and practical demonstrations dealing with advances made during recent years in important phases of communal health constituted the principal features of this conference. It was very gratifying to the Department to have such a large number of inspectors in attendance. During past years it had been the practice to hold these conferences biennially, but, as an economic measure, they had been discontinued since 1928. Installation of Bacteriolytic Tanks.—The action of the Government in providing for the installa¬ tion of bacteriolytic tanks in many State schools located in rural areas where no recognised method of disposal of nightsoil was in operation calls for favourable comment. The useful purpose served by these tanks is also being appreciated by private householders, judging by the increasing number of applications being received for their installation. Sanitation of Road Construction Camps.— Attention has been directed to the sanitation of road construction camps in various parts of the State with the object of protecting the health of the workers against the dust nuisance and the dangers associated with the disposal of excre- mental matter otherwise than in accordance with recognised practice. Sanitation of Hotels and Boarding-houses.— In accordance with instructions received from the Minister, special attention has been directed to the sanitation of hotels and boarding-houses in view of the important part played by these establishments towards popularising the State as a tourist resort. In the absence of specific legis¬ lation, so far as boarding-houses are concerned, it is not competent for the Department to regulate and control these particular establishments as is considered desirable and necessary. The law should provide for the registration of boarding¬ houses, which would be the means of eliminating the use of certain premises for the purpose if they did not conform to reasonable require¬ ments. Water-supply of Hobart.—From the viewpoint of the public health it is important to note that attention has been directed to the problem associ¬ ated with supplementing the water-supply of Hobart, and, at the same time, making some satisfactory provision for a safe and adequate supply for the inhabitants of some of the rural districts located on the eastern shore of the River Derwent. It is a well-known fact that times of drought have served to demonstrate that the margin of safety in the City of Hobart is not great, whilst in the other areas mentioned, and in many other districts throughout the State, the people who rely principally on roof catchment for their domestic supply periodically become the victims of scarcity. The important relationship that a good water-supply bears to the health and pros¬ perity of the people does not need to be empha¬ sised. It is to be hoped that the authorities con¬ cerned will realise that, if future needs are to be provided for and safeguarded, a broader out¬ look will require to be taken of the problem of water-supplies and, as an economic measure, every possible endeavour made towards the group¬ ing of areas for water-supply purposes.