Health Inspectors Invite Requests For Advice

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29401, 31 December 1960, Page 7

Health Inspectors Invite Requests For Advice

Help which could be given to the public by the Health Department is often not asked for, simply because many people do not understand the work of health inspectors, according to the Christchurch senior inspector of health, Mr J. B. Snoad. “The general concept seems to be that health inspectors are folk who go round looking at bad drains,” he said. “Often people break health-laws inadvertently through not consulting the health inspectors before going ahead with some new development on their property.” The storage of poisons, elimination of pests, prevention of air and water pollution, '•and all measures, connected with the hygiene of food-handling and the spread of disease, are in the province of health inspectors. The health inspectors aim at being merely but at times action has to be taken. Health inspectors -who often act also as building inspectors—have power of entry to all homes to check on such things as dampness, general state of repair of the building, lighting, ventilation, overcrowding, cooking and food storage arrangements, water supply, lavatory accommodation, drainage, nightsoil disposal, and overall cleanliness. Problems in these matters are often particularly acute with old people who are no longer capable of looking after themselves. Many elderly people have been settled comfortably in old people’s homes through the persuasion of health inspectors; in other cases, where conditions have been too bad and persuasion has failed, committal orders have had to be obtained from the Courts.

Another duty of health inspectors, coinciding more nearly with the concept of them as “people who look at drains,” is to find and abate any of the 17 statutory “nuisances” defined in the Health Act. These include rats, flies, mosquitoes, refuse accumulations, defective drains, overcrowding, smoke, neglected animal carcases, dirty business premises, and soon. Usually the abatement is secured by a notice to.the offending party, but in urgent cases an inspector may enter a property and abate the nuisance forthwith.

One inspector from the Christchurch office has a full-time job meeting every ship and aircraft arriving in North Canterbury direct from overseas. Aircraft are fumigated for five minutes before the doors are opened, to keep out the anopheles mosquitoes which spread malaria and which have not so far been reported in New Zealand. Ships are checked for cleanliness and are also required to produce a “deratisation” certificate, to confirm that they have been purged within the previous six months of any rat infestation. The Health Act lists 45 "offensive trades.’’ such as chemical works. offal treatment, glue manufacture, and refuse collection. As all these have to be registered and conducted so that no nuisance occurs, the health inspectors need a working knowledge of each trade. Investigation of cases of infectious diseases, to prevent their spread and, if possible, trace their origin, is another side of the health inspectors’ work. Thirtyone notifiable infectious diseases are listed in the act. In addition, there are 21 notifiable but not infectious diseases, such as foodpoisoning. hydatids, arsenic poisoning, tetanus, and the like, each case of which must be investigated to try to prevent other people falling victim. Poisoning from arsenic, lead, mercury, phosphorus, or other materials, is an ever-present hazard in some industries, and a good deal of the inspectors’ time is devoted to checking on workers’ safety in this respect, especially where new processes are involved. Other industrial hazards also come in their purview Checking on the use of poisons and on the existence of other hazards is important in the community generally, the enforcement of the poisons regulations, being part of the work of the inspectors. Often, the regulations are broken simply because people are not familiar with them. Public water supplies are checked regularly by bacteriological and chemical samples, and routine inspections of watersheds

carried out, to see that the required standard of purity is maintained. Private water sources are also frequently examined. Earlier this year, it was found that practically a whole community in Otago was drawing from wells contaminated from septic tanks and other drainage in the area, and suspicions are entertained by the Christchurch inspectors that similar conditions could exist in certain areas in North Canterbury. These conditions could often be avoided by consultation with the health inspectors before putting in new water-supplies or making new drainage arrangements. Where the Department of Health believes that a community water or sewerage system, or both, should be installed, the inspectors are often asked by the local authority to address public meetings in the area to convince people of the need for the move. Sometimes a local authority may not agree with the Health Department on the necessity for an expensive sewerage installation; if the department is fully convinced, an order may be issued compelling the local authority to act.

Standards are laid down in the Food and Drugs Regulations for almost every conceivable type of food, drink, drug, or metal cooking utensil. The health inspectors carry out a sampling programme to check that these standards are being maintained. They also keep watch for misleading advertisements.

Halls, schools. cemeteries, swimming pools, beaches, hotels, boarding-houses, hairdressing establishments, restaurants, and milk shops all have to be inspected regularly; food factories —especially where milk products are concerned—come in for constant attention. Much of this work is advisory, since many proprietors are now in the habit of consulting the health inspectors before making a new move. Some, however, are inclined to be careless. Here the inspectors’ responsibility for health education of the public is very useful, since if people generally can be relied on to recognise and avoid establishments where unhygienic practices are carried out, the proprietors’ pockets will be touched—a most effective form of control.