[Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, Sevenoaks U.D.C.

  • Sevenoaks (England). Urban District Council
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, Sevenoaks U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/26 (page 3)
    DIARRHCSA was responsible for two deaths, one in the first and the other in the third quarter of the year. The first case was that of a person aged 68 years, who died in January. The second death occurred in August, and the patient was an infant under one year of age. It will be seen from the above that an abnormally small number of cases of infectious disease occurred in this District during 1898, and that the Birth-rate, Death-rate, Zymotic Death-rate, and Infant Mortality, are respectively n o, 6-3, 1-3, and 93 below the rates for the Country generally. INSPECTIONS.—During the year 1S98 I made inspections of the District on twelve separate occasions in addition to visits of enquiry into some of the cases of notified infectious disease, and reports were furnished to the Council on the condition of the Shenden Cesspools, the Water Supply, the Isolation Hospital, a proposed Sanatorium for a public institution in the town, and on other matters. The Bakehouses and Milkshops in the town have been visited from time to time, and are in good condition. By far the greater part of the milk used in Sevenoaks comes from the Rural District. There are only two Slaughter-houses; one of those is about to undergo repairs, and the other is in a fairly satisfactory condition. There are no common lodging houses, but two beer houses receive weekly lodgers, more particularly during the summer and autumn months. They are under constant supervision, and the houses havj been found to be generally well conducted. The contents of dust-bins and ash-pits are removed at the expense of the Urban District Council by contract. With very few exceptions all the house drainage passes into a system of well ventilated sewers, which discharges into the Darenth Valley * Main Sewer. It has not been found necessary to take any action under the Housing of Working Classes Act, the available cottages having so far fairly met the demands. The Infectious Disease (Prevention) Act, 1890, Parts II., III., IV. and V. of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890, were adopted, and came into force on June ist, 1891. A fairly exhaustive Report was presented to your Council on March 1st, 1898, containing details of the local supply based upon facts obtained as the result of personal inspections made of the gathering ground, (including an inspection of the bouth Eastern Tunnel), and Works of the Sevenoaks Water Company, Having thoroughly inspected the Works and having descended to the bottom of the well I could only express the greatest satisfaction with the conditions found, but had to point out the remote, but still possible, contingency of the supply becoming affected by the addition of water which might become contaminated in the Tunnel. ^