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picking up what crumbs he can from the rest of the Health Department staff who, although in
most cases desirous of beinghelpful, are not, and make no claim to be, teachers. From the student's
point of view, it is most unsatisfactory to be expected to train for important examinations under
such conditions Under the present arrangements a student enjoys relative freedom and financial
independence and these, together with the opportunities available for and the encouragement
given to the pursuit of other interests must interfere with serious studying and it is small wonder
that failures now occur so frequently.
I suggest the training scheme should be taken away completely from local authorities, as
health departments are not equipped, staffed, nor competent to undertake this work. A student
public health inspector should not be on the staff of a health department, but should be treated like
any other technical trainee and obtain his entry to an approved course through his appropriate
Education Authority, which would also make appropriate financial grants to candidates who were
considered educationally and temperamentally suited to the training course. The normal conditions
attached to such education grants would be an incentive to students to work seriously during their
training If the training course was made a full-time course of study, it could be completed in a far
less period than the four years at present involved, say, 18 months to two years at the most As
regards the aspects of practical training which would require to be taken in a health department, a
number of local authorities should be carefully selected to which pupils undergoing training would
be attached for a limited period of full-time field experience This period need not be too long and
could be given towards the end of the theoretical training period, when they would have a considerable
background knowledge on which to base their practical training The authorities selected
for practical training should be those where the Medical Officer of Health and Chief Public Health
Inspector and other appropriate staff have expressed an interest and willingness to undertake
practical tuition and where facilities exist for adequate practical experience
The above briefly outlines what I consider to be a better scheme of training for public health
inspectors than the existing one It would encourage recruitment and enhance the status of the
public health inspectorate, which the present training arrangements are in danger of undermining
NORTH END ROAD MARKET
For many years the North End Road Market has been a problem to the Health Department.
More recently, the demand for higher standards of hygiene in food-handling, especially since the
Food Hygiene Regulations were introduced, has thrown the problem into even sharper perspective
Unfortunately, it is not possible to reconcile standards of food hygiene which can and must,
be rightly demanded for the public these days, with a street market, The only solution, as far as the
Health Department is concerned, is a properly construction covered market with hygienic fixtures,
modern amenities and adequate supervision. It is appreciated that interests and problems other
than those of food hygiene are involved but I consider no time should be lost in commencing a
comprehensive study of the problem with a view to its earliest solution.
REHOUSING ON MEDICAL GROUNDS
During the year a points scheme for re-housing was introduced by the Council and your
Medical Officer of Health was asked to undertake the allocation of points for medical priorities
This has proved to be a formidable and difficult task occupying much time of the Medical Officer of
Health and Deputy Medical Officer of Health. Up to the time this preface was written, over 300
cases have been investigated and about 90 given maximum points. Unfortunately, none of these
cases has yet been rehoused, due to lack of suitable housing accommodation - many require ground
floor accommodation or access to a lift.