[Report 1971] / Medical Officer of Health, Welwyn Garden City U.D.C., Hatfield R.D.C., Welwyn R.D.C.

  • Welwyn Garden City (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1971
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1971] / Medical Officer of Health, Welwyn Garden City U.D.C., Hatfield R.D.C., Welwyn R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    9/90 (page 3)
    The government’s white paper on the National Health Service reorganisation sets out the main features of the changes to be introduced in April 197*+ at the same time as the reorganisation of Local Government. The proposals introduce administrative changes aimed at unification of the three main branches of the Health Service, as part of a wider programme of administrative reform. The unification will draw together the administration of the family practitioner services, the community health services and the hospitals and bring the school health service within the National Health Service. Many will regret that the opportunity was not taken to bring the whole National Health Service into a reorganised local government structure with the health and social services under a single administration, and also regret the lack of direct accountability to the electorate through local councillors in the proposed service with the prospect of only four Local Authority representatives out of 15 in the Area Health Authorities, no direct representation at regional level and half the 20 - 30 seats on the community health Councils whose effectiveness remains uncertain. A great deal of preparatory work will need to be undertaken over the next year to prepare for the setting up of the Area Health Authority for Hertfordshire and the District Working Teams. Discussions at office level between the three branches have commenced and I look forward to the wider interests and new responsibilities which will evolve upon the Community Physician with an important administrative and environmental health specialist role in the future. The importance of environmental health matters in these changes must not be forgotten for the excellent staff of Public Health Inspectors in Mid Hertfordshire, regrouped in the new District Council team will have better opportunity of serving the public and advising the Council still supported by the medical opinion of the Community Physician when requested. During the interval before the introduction of these new changes the opportunity will be sought for senior members of the staff to participate in training courses on the broader concepts of the new administrative order. With the co-operation of the County Health Education Officer, the Mid Herts Smoking Project, a major effort in Health Education was launched in October with the active support of the Councils and Education Department, details of which are included in the section on the Personal Health Services in the appendix. I would like to express my thanks to Mr. Evans and his staff for their enthusiastic support and for undertaking much of the detailed enquiry and clerical work involved in this study.