[Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Aberdeen City.

  • Aberdeen (Scotland). City Council.
Date:
1960
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Aberdeen City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Preventive and supportive work in the fields of health and welfare constitute a silent service, lacking the glamour of the operating theatre and the drama of the daw court. It is therefore somewhat remarkable that 1960 has been characterised by various public acknowledgments of Aberdeen’s achievements in health and social welfare. The main acknowledgments are indicated below. (1) At a World Health Organisation meeting of obstetrical experts in Geneva, ANTE-NATAL ^ / ° ° 1 CARE “BEST Aberdeen’s standards of ante-natal care were described as the best in the world, in the and the phrase received wide publicity in British newspapers. Since various WORLD . towns (e.g. in Sweden and even in the south of England) have better mortality figures, the assessment presumably takes account of environmental, social, cultural and climatic difficulties. In so far as the statement is true it reflects great credit on the University, Hospital and Local Health Authority Services— or more specifically on (a) the various institutions which teach prospective doctors, health visitors and midwives, (b) hospital doctors, midwives, &c., and fc) our own medical, health education, health visiting and midwifery staff. (2) The Medical Officer of Health and the Senior Health Education Lecturer HEALTHq^ had previously received recognition from professional colleagues by being invited WIDE on two separate occasions jointly to address refresher courses for medical officers RECOGNITION, on health education and to address similar courses for health visitors, while the Senior Health Education Lecturer had been asked to perform the same function in a course for tutors. In 1960, however, (a) the Convener of the Health and Welfare Committee was appointed as the only Scottish local authority member of a National Committee on Health Education; (b) the Medical Officer of Health was invited to address a seminar for medical officers of health conducted by the Central Council for Health Education, probably the most important health educa- tion meeting held in England during the year, and also to give two lectures to the Summer School organised by the Scottish Council for Health Education; (c) a detailed “Evaluation of Health Education” by the Medical Officer of Health was summarised and favourably reviewed in many journals, and was publicly described by the Medical Adviser of the Central Council for Health Education as one of the most important publications in recent years; and (d) the Senior Health Education Lecturer and Principal Health Visitor Tutor, who had previously made history as the first public health nurse in this country to be awarded a World Health Organisation Senior Travelling Fellowship and the first person from Scotland to gain the essay prize of the Royal Society of Health, visited the United States as holder of a Ford Foundation Award to study at various American Universities the preparation of intending public health nurses and health education officers for the Bachelor’s degree and the advanced training of outstanding nurses for the Master’s degree, and to investigate health educa- tion methods generally. (3) Aberdeen’s progress in the reduction of home accidents was recognised PREVENTION -by (a) a decision by the Nuffield Corporation to sponsor the publication in book ACCIDENTS, form of Dr. MacQueen’s two-year research study of home accidents, the book