[Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Nottingham City.

  • Nottingham (England). City Council.
Date:
1954
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Nottingham City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    improved after only a relatively short stay and it is evident that in the course of only a small number of years the old element as far as the type of patient is concerned will have passed on. The enlightened attitude of the public and of the medical profession, too, is showmg results, and the earlier reporting of cases recorded in this report will result in the admission to hospital of more voluntary patients whose instability will be remedied by a relatively short stay. However, to get this in true perspective, happy augury though it be, it can only be regarded as the beginning of a long evolution. True prevention will arise from the care of children from birth. For the past half century the principal emphasis has been on the child’s physique and the care work has produced nationally important results, so much so that informed critics have declared that the purpose of the child health services has been achieved. The voice of important authority has, however, emphasised that the time has arrived for something more than lip service to be paid to the well known fact that mental health is at least as important as physical health, and that the guiding of the emotional and mental development of children in the most important years before the seventh birthday will fully occupy all the skills of those engaged in the service. We have to remind ourselves that the present concept of mental health is not the simple absence of instability or mental illness, but on the contrary, a vigour of mind and of thought processes essential to citizenship and sound personal relations. ★ ★ ★ Liaison and co-operation, words which have become a commonplace since 1948, seemed to occupy more thought than ever during the year in an endeavour to translate them into profitable action. Most statutory bodies within the National