[Report 1950] / Medical Officer of Health, Surrey County Council.

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

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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

    25/96 (page 25)
    The Minister had emphasised that only a strictly limited amount of building work could proceed at that time, and, after consultation, the following works were approved in principle for the year by 31st March, 1951 :— Property. Approval Sought for Purpose. 1 and 3, Robin Hood Lane, Sutton... Purchase, adaptations and equip¬ ment. Welfare Centre and School Clinic; M.D. Occupation and Training Centre ; Ambulance Station. “ Hillsleigh,” Nightingale Road, Godaiming Purchase, adaptations and equip¬ ment. Welfare Centre and School Clinic. Sites in Kings Road, Richmond Purchase, adaptations, new building and equipment. Welfare Centre and School Clinic ; Divisional Health Offices ; Ambu¬ lance Station. “ The Roselands,” Kingston Road, New Malden Appropriation, adaptations, new building and equipment. Ambulance Station. “The Mansion,” Leatherhead ^Purchase, adaptations and equip¬ ment. Welfare Centre and School Clinic; Ambulance Sub-Station. “ Quedley,” Lion Green, Haslemere Purchase, adaptations and equip¬ ment. Welfare Centre and School Clinic ; Ambulance Sub-Station. Site in Botley’s Park, Chertsey Purchase, new building and equip¬ ment. Ambulance Station. “ Sandhurst Grange,” Send... ■(■Purchase, adaptations and equip¬ ment. Hostel for T.B. child contacts and for child B.C.G. vaccinees. * The property will be used jointly with Education Committee, which is responsible for purchase and adapta¬ tions. The County Health Committee will pay a rental to the Education Committee and will be responsible for equipping the part to be used for Health Services. f Approval given before introduction of new procedure. (c) Prevention of Tuberculosis. During the year, the Minister of Health asked Local Health Authorities to adopt certain measures to protect organised groups of children against the risk of infection by persons suffering from tuber¬ culosis who are employed by the Authorities and whose work brings them in close contact with such organised groups of children. These measures are intended to ensure (a) that no person with respiratory tuberculosis will be engaged in employment which involves close contact with groups of children unless and until the disease is arrested ; (b) that persons whose employment brings them in close contact with such groups of children shall be examined annually to exclude the possibility of tuberculosis ; (c) that any persons found to be suffering from tuberculosis while thus employed shall cease and not resume until two consecutive medical certificates are given at six months interval, first to the effect that the disease is arrested and second that the improvement in the general and local conditions has been maintained, supervision subsequently to continue for two years ; and (d) that if any unusually high incidence of tuberculosis occurs in any organised group of children, a full investigation of the staff employed should at once be undertaken. (d) Special Inquiries. During the year, four special sub-committees of the County Health Committee (one being a joint sub-committee with the Fire Brigade Committee) considered important matters of policy or administration relating to certain individual services. All four of these sub-committees either within the year or subsequently submitted their reports, which have been accepted as County policy. The subjects of these special inquiries were :—- (i) Day Nurseries—Criteria of admission and number of nurseries required. (ii) Home Nursing and Domiciliary Midwifery services—organisation, administration and financial arrangements. (iii) Hospital Car Service—increase in number of patients carried and mileages travelled. (iv) County Ambulance Service—review of emergency ambulance arrangements. These inquiries are more fully reported on in the appropriate sections of the Report. (e) Staff. (i) Medical. The establishment of assistant medical officers engaged in general clinical duties in respect of the School Health Service, the Care of Mothers and Young Children and so on, is 37. The actual number of assistant medical officers doing this w'ork at the end of the year was 28, comprising 13 men and 15 women. Response to advertisements during the post-war years has been poor and it has not been possible to fill all the posts which became vacant with full-time staff with requisite quali¬ fications and experience. Moreover the average age of the present staff of assistant medical officers which are the junior posts in the field of public health and from which promotion can be expected within a reasonable time, is higher than it should be. So far vacancies have been covered by em¬ ploying general practitioners and other medical personnel on a sessional basis.