Page 21 - The Health OF Redditch

The Health Of Reditch

great•classes•of•conditions•to•which•the•causation•of•Phthisis•may•be•put•down’.• One•was•the
general unsanitary condition of drainage and houses, tending to lower resistance to disease.
The other was related to needle pointing. Statistics concerning phthisis and needle pointing
were noted in The British Medical Journal: 56

Dr. Page, of Redditch, has most kindly copied from the registers the number of deaths assigned
to phthisis. During four of the years quoted - 1876, 1877, 1878, and 1879 - he acted as medical
officer of health, and I have selected the returns of those years for calculating the ratio to the
population living. The outcome is that, in every 1,000 living, the deaths from phthisis were in
each year respectively 2.34, 2.84, 2.17 and 2.16. Again, its ratio to the total mortality stands for
the same years respectively at 12.16, 15.58, 11.24, and 9.63. .... Just as happens with the Sheffield
grinding, the introduction of youths, especially when not robust, to needle-pointing shops is
fraught with speedy breaking down of health and early death if the occupation be persisted in.

In•Page’s•annual•report•for•1875•he•also•noted•that•the•practice•of•filing•in•workers’•homes,
with•no•provision•for•the•removal•of•the•dust,•injured•‘not•only•the•operator•but•the•whole
family’.

Public health legislation 1848 and 1858

The 1848 Public Health Act

A General Board of Health was set up, which reported to Parliament. Local authorities were
empowered to set up local boards of health which managed sewers and drains, wells and
slaughterhouses, refuse and sewerage systems, burial grounds and public baths, recreation
areas and public parks. Local boards of health could finance projects by levying local rates.
However, this Act was only permissive.

The 1858 Local Government Act and the 1858 Public Health Act

The Public Health Act of 1858 abolished the General Board of Health and transferred its medical
duties to the Privy Council. The Privy Council medical department carried out the relevant
inspections where public health projects were involved.

The Local Government Act of 1858 came into force in all existing local board of health districts
on 1 September 1858. The act made some changes to the procedure for constituting a local
board and gave them some additional powers. The authorities created by the 1858 act
were•simply•entitled•‘Local•Boards’•and•their•areas•as•‘Local•Government•Districts’.

The procedure for adopting the act and constituting a local board included improvement
commissioners who could adopt the Act for their district, the board of commissioners becoming
in addition the local board. Petitions from ten per cent of the ratepayers of places,

56
The British Medical Journal, April 6 1889.

Angela Webster Page: 21 of 26