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Old Town Hall,
Fulham Broadway,
S.W.6.
Tel. 01 - 385 - 1212
The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
London Borough of Hammersmith.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present the Annual Report of the Medical Officer
of Health and Director of Community Services of the London Borough of
Hammersmith for the year 1968.
With the agreement of the Inner London Education Authority a report
on the School Health Service in the Borough during 1968, which has been
submitted to the Education Authority by your Medical Officer of Health in
his capacity of Principal School Medical Officer, is included in this
Annual Report. Similarly, since your Medical Officer of Health in his capacity
as Director of Community Services has responsibilities in regard to
the Welfare and Children's Services, reports on these services are also
set out. This Report, therefore, provides details of the work which was
carried out in each section of the Community Services during the year.
On the 27th March, 1968, the then Minister of Health, the Right Hon.
Kenneth Robinson, M.P., came to Hammersmith to open the Grove Health Centre.
This was the first Health Centre to be opened in Inner London since the
reorganisation of London Local Government. It is also original insofar as
the general practitioner element in the joint use of the Health Centre premises
predominates.
The Borough Architect and his staff are to be congratulated on the design
of the premises which makes maximum use of the restricted site. A
health visitor centre superintendent deals with day-to-day matters as a
representative of the Local Authority and I am grateful to her as well as
to the general practitioners and all the Local Authority staff who work in
and from the Health Centre for co-operating so harmoniously. This small
Health Centre is making a valuable contributibn to the Health Service in
the particular part of Hammersmith in which it is situated.
Early in the life of the London Borough of Hammersmith it was decided
to use premises situated just off Hammersmith Broadway which were available,
fortunately, for use by the Welfare Services. The conversion of the original
building, which was carried out under the supervision of the Borough Architect,
has made it possible to combine a 34-Bed Home, a Day Centre for the
infirm Elderly, and a Social Club. A Luncheon Club is held daily in the
ground floor dining room, and the kitchen is used for the provision of a
week-end meals service. St. Vincent's, which was officially opened by the
Right Hon.Margaret Herbison, M.P., on the 1st May, 1968, has proved to be
a most valuable asset to the Borough's services for the elderly and infirm.
The Grove Health Centre and St. Vincent's House are only two examples
of the expanding Community Services in Hammersmith;and throughout the year
every effort has been made to increase the co-operation between the general
practitioners in the Borough, the hospital services,and the officers of
the local authority.
Sincere thanks are due to the Chairmen and Members of the various
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