[Report 1967] / Medical Officer of Health, Leicestershire / County of Leicester County Council.

  • Leicestershire (England). County Council.
Date:
1967
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1967] / Medical Officer of Health, Leicestershire / County of Leicester County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/102 (page 3)
    To the Chairman and Members of the Health and Welfare Committee of the Leicestershire County Council Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honour to present to you my first Annual Report, and the 78th in the series, on the health and welfare services of the local authority for 1967. Two major events took place within the department during the year. The first of these was the retirement of Dr. G. H. Gibson on the 31st of October, 1967 after twenty years of loyal service with the authority. The content of this report therefore mainly covers the work of the department under his able leadership. During his years in office, there has been considerable expansion of the health and welfare services, the quality of which is ample testimony to an outstanding chief officer. The second event of major importance was the department's move to the new County Hall at Glenfield in November after more than fifty years in the Georgian premises at Friar Lane, Leicester. Whilst the removal from the City centre has some disadvantages these are more than offset by having all the sections of the health and welfare department under one roof within easy reach of other departments of the County Council. The report has been prepared in accordance with Ministry of Health Circular 1/68 and as in previous years contains details and comment provided by the officers in the various sections responsible for the day to day administration of the many activities of the department. The presentation, however, has been radically changed and is a product of the new printing equipment now available to all departments at County Hall. The general standard of health in Leicestershire remained at a high level throughout the year and there was no significant change in the vital statistics over recent years. The task of maintaining and improving community services in 1967 was hampered by the financial restrictions imposed by the central govern¬ ment. Despite this, the defining of needs, the planning of projects and the assessment of priorities has continued during the year. Clearly this effort remains of value even though the rate of progress has been slowed down. I should like to thank the staff of the department for their devoted service to the community throughout the year. I should also like to record my appreciation of the help and advice given by colleagues in other Departments of the County Council, in the hospital service and by general practitioners and voluntary workers in the County. Finally, I wish to thank the Chairman and members of the Health and Welfare Committee for their continued support and guidance. A. R. BUCHAN, County Medical Officer