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There are obvious advantages to both public and staff in having these
services in one building; and it is interesting to note that having reached
this decision independently at an early stage the London Borough of Wandsworth
has, through the London Boroughs Committee, urged other Boroughs to
create Health Centres.
The London Borough of Hammersmith was fortunate in inheriting from
the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith a scheme for the provision of group
practice premises in association with housing redevelopment. Advantage was
taken of the Council's new powers as a local health authority to adapt the
scheme in consultation with the Ministry of Health, the Inner London Executive
Council, the Local Medical Committee and local general practitioners,
as a Health Centre in keeping with the modern trend for the joint use of
smaller-type premises. This, the first of Hammersmith's Health Centres to
be opened, is featured in the photograph at the front of this Report, and
is described in the following paragraphs.
The Grove Health Centre, 95 Goldhawk Road, W.12.
The Grove Health Centre was formally opened by the Minister of Health,
the Rt.Hon.Kenneth Robinson, M.P., on 27th March, 1968.
The building consists of a main floor slab cantilevered out from a
brick podium containing storage, utilities, and a staff room. The cantilever
thus formed provides a natural covered area for the parking of both prams
and cars. This unusual design was chosen because the general site level
was some 4 feet below the pavement.
All the public accommodation is on the main floor which is half-storey
height above pavement level, approached by a ramp and steps. The ancillary
accommodation in the brick podium will be used by staff only and will not
be accessible to the general public.
Because of the restricted size of the site, the building is small compared
with most Health Centres. However, by using built-in furniture, purpose-designed
equipment, and ingenuity in planning, the space available is
used to the maximum possible effect.
I
The waiting area has been designed to be visible to the receptionists
with the counter screened by glazed wings to afford some degree of privacy
to patients who may wish to give some indication of their complaint to them.
Consulting rooms, Examination rooms and Nurses' rooms have all been
provided with double glazed, double sash windows with integral blinds. There
are roof lights, allowing the windows to be screened from external view by
a simple turn button, but still permitting examination to be carried out
by natural light during daytime.
The examination rooms provided also have specialist functions. Examination
Room 1 is equipped for vision and audiology examinations, artificially
ventilated and accoustically treated to give a background sound level of
40 decibels. Examination Room 2 contains a gynaecology couch and is used
for ante-natal examination and cytology.
A small laboratory has been provided for mounting slides of cervical
smears, and for urine testing.
There is accommodation for four general practitioners, three of whom
initially worked as a group practice.
The Centre is open for the public from 8.30 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays to
C. 2