[Report 1909] / Medical Officer of Health, Salop / Shropshire County Council.

  • Shropshire Council
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1909] / Medical Officer of Health, Salop / Shropshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    126/148 (page 104)
    There were 8 deaths from phthisis. Voluntary notification has not been adopted. Two ]->oor-law cases were notified, and measures of inquiry, advice and disinfection carried out. “In one of the above cases, the patient was the mother of a family. After her death, on February 27th, the family moved to another part of the district. The youngest child, aged ii months, died of tuberculous meningitis on April nth, having no doubt contracted the infection from the mother.” Hospital Isolation. There is no isolation hospital, but there is an arrangement for providing a tent hospital in an emergency, for small-pox. Disinfection. The Sanitary Inspector disinfects rooms, in nearly all notified cases, with a spraying apparatus. The purchase of a steam disinfector has been advised, but no steps taken. Water Supply. A public system of supply is laid on to Church Aston and Chetwynd Aston villages, from the Urban Council’s mains. Lilleshall village is supplied from a well in the Bunter measures, the water being pumped by wind power to a reservoir on Lilleshall Hill. Muxton village and the greater part of Donnington village are served from this supply. The new supply to Donnington Wood is now complete, the higher level from Hilton Bank and the lower level from the Lilleshall scheme. Tibberton village is supplied by standpipes from a well outside the \ illage. Edgmond village has a private supply from a well in the sandstone to several houses and to a fountain for public use. Both these latter supplies are raised by wind engines. The district is now well supplied as regards the main centres. There remain the supplies to individual houses and groups of houses to be dealt with. In the house to house inspection, the Sanitary Inspector is giving attention to this matter. “The re-construction or diversion of defective drains, proper disposal of drainage, conversion of defective privies into earth closets, and improvement of pigstyes and other sources of manurial pollution, will often be found necessary for the removal of sources of contamination of wells. The re-construction of the well should be aimed at so as to render the upper part impervious to access of surface or subsoil water.” Sewerage, Drainage, and Excrement Disposal. In Edgmond most of the houses are connected to one or other of four sewers with separate outfalls on land. Improvement to the outfall at the south-west end of the village has been made during the year. The drainage of Donnington Wood was greatly improved in the year 1905 by a system of combined drainage carried out by the principal property owner. Thirty-four houses have been connected to the main sewer during the year. In other villages the houses are often connected to road water drains, and the slop drains from individual houses discharge on gardens or on to fields or into ditches without offence. The number of houses with water closets is approximately 36, pail closets 27, and privies 1106. There is room for conversion of defective privies to pail closets. This is advised particularly in Don¬ nington Wood, and the provision of one closet for every house. Housing. In the agricultural area the conditions are on the whole fair. In the industrial area, the Lilleshall Company have done much good work in recent years. “ There remains the fact that a number of the houses are radically unsatisfactory in design and structure, and need very careful and thorough treatment to make them wholesome dwellings. The first essentials are to remove all causes of dampness of walls and floors, and to provide through ventilation to every house and adequate lighting space.” A careful inspection of Church Barracks (10 houses) has been made and details of the require¬ ments forwarded to the owner. They are having consideration. Two hundred and thirty-five houses have been systematically inspected. The numbering of the houses has been of very great use.