[Report 1950] / Medical Officer of Health, Solihull County Borough.

  • Solihull (England). County Borough Council.
Date:
1950
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1950] / Medical Officer of Health, Solihull County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    69, New Road, Solihull. September, 1951. Although this introduction is written by me as Medical Officer of Health for Solihull it incorporates aspects seen by me as Area Medical Officer to the Warwickshire County Council. To the Solihull Urban District Council Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, The year 1950 has, with the exception of an epidemic of infantile paralysis, been a very healthy one. Unfortunately other factors a&cting the service generally have arisen. The Sanitary Inspectors’ Association objects to its members working under the general direction of the Medical Officer of Health and are pressing forward the matter so as to be completely free from this Department. In one respect they have my sympathy as the salaries paid to these officials are, in my opinion, extremely low. Superannuation. The question of superannuation has not yet been settled for Medical Officers working for two authorities. Public Health Medical Officers. Generally speaking very little is known by the lay-public about the medical staff employed in Local Government Work, and the popular conception is that the Public Health Doctor is either “ not a qualified doctor” or is not so well qualified as the General Practitioner. This is not so. It takes eight years to train an ! Assistant Medical Officer of Health—six years medical training, one year at least gaining hospital experience and one year to obtain the Diploma in Public Health. This training cannot be taken by apprenticeship or by articles as in the case of the majority of local government officers, by entering the service of a local authority on leaving school. In spite of the recent salary increase, few young doctors are prepared to enter local government service as assistants to gain the many years of experience necessary, before they can hold the post of “Medical Officer of Health,” especially when more lucrative branches are open to them — often needing less experience. Moreover, Medical Officers of Health are the only Officers of Local Authorities who are required, by law, to have an extra qualification—i.e., the Diploma in Public Health, in addition to their medical qualifications (also required by law). So much