[Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Northumberland County Council.

  • Northumberland (England). County Council.
Date:
1970
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1970] / Medical Officer of Health, Northumberland County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    increase in numbers occurring in the older groups. The decline in the disease is shown in the reduction in the number of cases dis¬ covered by mass radiography, and a change in the use of this service has become necessary. Nevertheless a number of new cases continue to occur and efforts at protection must not be relaxed. It is seven years since the first arrangements were made for health visiting and nursing staff to be attached to the practices of family doctors and to work closely with them. Steady progress has been made each year, and in 1970 more attachment schemes were started resulting in nearly 80% of the community nursing staff working in this system. The changes in the work have been considerable and the report shows the increase in the number of patients who have been treated by the nurses. The work of the health visitor in advising and teaching has been extended to cover adults and especially the elderly. No one working in the new system which engenders close co-operation in the clinical team in the community would willingly revert to the old parochial ” system, and most of the original doubts have been overcome. It may be said that the battle has been won in this sphere and only mopping up operations remain. Last year the first reference was made to health centres, though efforts had been made unsuccessfully to establish these nearly 20 years earlier. This year we are able to report on the success of the two permanent health centres at present operating, and the provision of two temporary centres to meet the needs of the new towns of Cramlington and Killingworth until permanent buildings can be completed. It will be seen that a programme of 12 more health centres was drawn up to cover the future years, and building had started on one centre at Newbiggin by the end of the year. At the time of the presentation of this report another centre has come into operation in Amble through the adaptation of existing premises, and it is clear that fairly satisfactory progress is being made. The planning and producing of these health centres involves a very great deal of consultation and discussion as my Department has to make arrangements which are suitable to the family doctors, the dentists and the Executive Council, as well as ensure that the buildings will be appropriate for the Depart¬ ment’s own services. I must express our thanks to the County Architect for his help and my own thanks to the section of my staff which undertakes this work, perhaps especially to Mr. Donnelly for all the work he has done, much of it out of normal working hours, in determining that newly opened premises function satisfactorily. There was an increase in the work of the family planning clinics but there remains a need to make advice in this field avail¬ able more widely. It is interesting to note an extract from the report for 1894 of the then County Medical Officer, Dr. J. W. Hembrough, pressing the need for infectious disease hospitals