[Report 1949] / Medical Officer of Health, Ogmore & Garw U.D.C.

  • Ogmore & Garw (Wales). Urban District Council.
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1949] / Medical Officer of Health, Ogmore & Garw U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/64 (page 3)
    Mr. Chairman^ Ladies and Gentlemen, 1949 is the first complete year for the National Health Act to be in operation. The absence of familiar names on the first page is noticeable, indicating the removal of control over certain services from the local council to other bodies—the Isolation Hospital and the Maternity and Child Welfare Services. The Hospital Administration is now completely in the hands of the Welsh Hospital Regional Board as from March 1st, 1949; from the appointed day until that date the officials of the Council undertook administration on an agency basis. The details of the personnel of this Board will be seen under the paragraph dealing with the Isolation Hospital. The only contact this Council has with the Hospital Regional Board is through a member of the Council who has been co-opted on to the Mid-Glamorgan Hospital House Committee and through the Medical Officer of Health as clinical officer at the hospital. This member has the power of discussing day to day administration and of making recommenda- tions to the Hospital Management Committee. Whether the public is best served by the divorcing of the control of the Public Health Department from that of the Isolation Hospital is a matter open to discussion, as these two institutions are so closely inter-related; so far as one can tell at the present time, one local control would appear to be desirable. Previously, the local public health and hospital committees, having the same personnel, had a complete picture of the trend of infectious diseases and, knowing local con- ditions, might well be in the best position to advise on the methods of prevention and control. The Isolation Hospital was first opened on September 18th, 1907 mainly for the purpose of isolating typhoid and diphtheria. There has been a marked advance in the construction of hospitals since that date. In 1921, it was felt that further blocks were necessary to cope with scarlet fever. In 1939, cubicles were added in the diphtheria block for isolating single cases and for observation; in this year an extension to the laundry was also