View report page

8
The year 1968 saw the publication of two documents which had
been long awaited, namely, the Green Paper on the Administrative
Structure of the Medical and Related Services in England and
Wales and the Report of the Committee on Local Authority and
Allied Personal Social Services (the Seebohm Report). Having a
bearing on the subject matter of these Reports were the findings
of the Royal Commission on Medical Education (the Todd Report)
but a fourth Report, that of the Royal Commission on Local
Government, had not been published at the end of the year.
No-one concerned with the health and social services can be
unaware of the importance which the Green Paper and the Seebohm
Report must have on the future administration of the health and
social services of this country. Much has already been written
and spoken on the subject and it is already apparent that there are
many conflicting views which cut across professional groups and
different sectional interests. It would serve little purpose here to
discuss the many viewpoints and the various hopes and aspirations
to which these Reports have given rise. However, it must be
apparent to everyone that the time has now come when some
revaluation and development of the health and social services is
necessary if further advances are to be made. The existing tripartite
administration of the health services as between the local
health authorities, the local Executive Councils and Regional
Hospital Boards with their Hospital Management Committees, has
served the country for over twenty years and many advances have
been made in hospital and community medical care. Alongside
these advances, two trends have become apparent. Firstly, that
medicine cannot be practised in isolation and that many professions
and disciplines have an important and vital part to
play in the health and welfare of the patient, which after all is the
prime purpose of all forms of health and social services. Amongst
these other services, many of which have already attained the
status of a profession, social work and social workers hold an
honoured place and, whatever the final decisions taken, must
inevitably play an important part in the health and welfare of
patients. In other words, the practice of medicine is now becoming
predominantly a team effort and many people are involved. The
second trend which has become apparent is the improved standards
and the increasingly high levels of service which the public have
come not only to expect, but to demand. Standards of care and
treatment which would have been tolerated ten or even five years
ago are no longer regarded as adequate.
While every credit must be given to the work of the health and
social services over the past 20 years, if further improvements are
to be made then the organization of the services must be such as
to enable these improvement to be put into effect. In this country,
major developments in the Health Services have usually been introduced
in periods of about 20 years, the last being in 1948. If the