Dr. Thorne Thorne's report to the local government board on the sanitary condition of the Dewsbury registration district, with special reference to the prevalence of infectious diseases in the district.

  • Thorne, Richard Thorne.
Date:
1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. Thorne Thorne's report to the local government board on the sanitary condition of the Dewsbury registration district, with special reference to the prevalence of infectious diseases in the district. 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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    zvo 54 drained into the sewers which have been and are being provided under the scheme now in course of being carried out. Should it be found that the complete drainage of the district will best be effected by means of a scheme applicable to the whole of the valley of the Dewsbury Beck, the Authority should consider how this result may best be attained. Wherever private drains are, owing to faulty construction or otherwise, a source of nuisance and of injury to health they should be dealt with as such. 4. Sufficient closet accommodation should be provided throughout the district for existing houses, and every new house should have a sufficient privy or water-closet. All midden-privies now causing nuisance should be dealt with as such. The Authority should also take into consideration what method of excrement disposal will be best adapted for their district, and in arriving at a decision on this point information may be obtained from the Office Report of the Local Government Board relating to this subject. No midden-privy should be allowed which does not ensure a thorough mingling of ashes with the excreta, the exclusion of all rainfall and slops, and the frequent removal of the closet contents. 5. The keeping of urine for trade purposes should be placed under efficient regulations with a view to preventing nuisance. The receptacles for the urine should be made of some impervious material, such as metal, and they should be covered. Their contents should be removed at least once a week, and they should not be sanctioned within less than 60 ft. of any dwelling-house or public thoroughfare. 6. A properly enclosed piece of land should be provided outside the town for the temporary deposit of road scrapings and all other refuse. 7. With a view to the more efficient sanitary administration of the district, the existing byelaws should be revised, and in effecting this the Authority should consult the Model Byelaws recently issued by the Local Government Board. 8. The byelaw relating to the provision of open space about dwellings or some similar byelaw should be strictly enforced. 9. It is important that, with a view to prevent the spread of infectious diseases within their district, the Authority should have in readiness—1st, some means for the immediate isolation of persons found suffering from infectious diseases, and who in their own houses are without proper lodging and accommodation ; 2nd, some apparatus for the efficient disinfection of infected bedding, clothing, and other articles ; 3rd, a mortuary. It will possibly be found advantageous to make these provisions in conjunction with one or more of the adjoining sanitary districts. 10. The return of deaths to the Medical Officer of Health should be made weekly instead of monthly, and they should be supplied to him immediately on the termina- tion of each week. Immediate notice should be forwarded to him in case of a death from infectious disease. 11. Proceedings should be taken to have all dwellings which are nuisances and as such unfit for habitation closed, either permanently or until they have been made fit to be so used. III.—Relating to the Urban Sanitary District of Liversedge. 1. In all parts of the district not having a proper water-supply, such a supply should without unnecessary delay be provided. Measures should be adopted in accordance with the provisions of section 70 of the Public Health Act, 1875, to prevent the use of polluted well water. If it should be considered advisable to continue the use of the spring now flowing at Lion’s Mouth, steps should be taken to prevent this supply from being subject to any risk of pollution, and it would materially benefit the population if it could be conveyed to a spot more accessible to the majority of those who resort to it. 2. Efficient means of sewerage and drainage should as soon as possible be provided for all parts of this district. With a view to carrying this into effect it will probably be necessary to renew the efforts which have been made towards securing a combination, for the purposes of a main outfall sewer, of the several authorities in the valley of the Spen Beck. Such steps as are taken with regard to the district itself should include the efficient ventilation of all sewers and drains, and the adoption of measures to prevent such construction of house drains as will admit of the entrance of sewer air into dwellings. 3. The Sanitary Authority should take into consideration the best means for dealing with the excrement and refuse of the population. The soil-pipes of all water-closets and all house drains should be provided with ample means of ventilation. If any form