[Report 1893] / Medical Officer of Health, Godstone R.D.C.

  • Godstone (Surrey, England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1893] / Medical Officer of Health, Godstone R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    specially alludes to that as being amongst those which “show a considerable amount of care in their preparation and are worthy of praise” such commendation becomes somewhat negative when taken in connection with his later criticisms upon the reports generally and when comparing them with that presented by a Medical Officer of Health who devotes his whole time to the duties of his office, and is not engaged in practice also. And it is very evident that it is upon this basis that his criticisms are founded, which taken as a whole are adverse to the view that men engaged in practice are in position to pay attention to Sanitary matters at all with any advantage to the community. Such opinions however I believe are not universally held by men occupying high positions in the Sanitary Service of the country. Curiously, however, a further development of these opinions found expression in some articles which appeared in the Local Press during the month of August last, which would seem to be more than a mere coincidence, but concerning which your views were very decidedly expressed in the words of the Resolution passed at your meeting on August 25th, for which I desire to express my gratitude ; without which one’s work in the Sanitary administration of the district would have been somewhat disheartening from the lack of encouragement which such remarks as those to which I have alluded afford when emanating from one of so presumed an Authority as the Medical Officer of Health to the County Council. With this digression I pass on to review some of the conditions and influences which have been present during the past year and calculated to affect the health of the community injuriously. Foremost amongst these has been the weather which has been of such a character throughout, as to merit more than a mere passing allusion, and which has probably been influential in some degree in the development of moie than one class of illness. By the kindness of Mr. Moffat, of the Priory Gardens, Nutfield, I am enabled to give you a detailed account of the Rainfall occurring at that Station during the past year, and the average for ten years, together with a record of the temperatures, by which you will be able to judge of its variability. [2]