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Dental Service
Section 22 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, imposes a duty on local health authorities
to make arrangements for the care, in particular dental care, of the priority classes, i.e.
expectant and nursing mothers and children under school age.
Treatment of these classes of patients has in the past been carried out at Parsons Green
and Shepherds Bush Road only, special sessions being devoted solely to this purpose, and this
has limited the development of the overall service. Severe staff shortages regrettably made it
necessary to curtail for a period expectant mothers being referred for treatment from the
Hammersmith Hospital.
The service has now been put on a new footing, with all treatment centres seeing both the
pre-school child and the expectant and nursing mother, and their attendance for treatment being
integreated into the normal treatment session. This should lead to a steady expansion of the
service, which will not reach fruition until the service is rehoused in the forthcoming new health
centres and can play its full part in the care of the community. At the present time only one
surgery is in any way related to a maternity and child welfare centre.
The appended statistics reflect the staff shortages referred to above.