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Personal Health Service
In England and Wales the Personal Health Services of the local health
authorities i.e, the Councils of Counties and County Boroughs, are provided
under Sections 21 to 29 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, as amended
by the Health Services & Public Health Act, 1968= A similar position obtains
in the case of the London Borough Councils with the exception that Section
27, which deals with the provision of an Ambulance Service, is administered
as one service throughout Greater London by the Greater London Council.
Co-ordination and Co-operation of Services
Co-ordination and co-operation of the local health authority's
services with the hospital and family doctor services were continued during
the year. There was consultation between the three services at Maternity
Liaison Committees. During the year a total of 957 visits of observation
were made to Personal Health establishments. Visitors included students
of nursing, medicine, dietetics, nutrition, home economics, social and
hospital administration and student tutors. In addition, two senior
nursing officers from Tokio spent one week with the Chief Nursing Officer
and her staff Nursing Officers continued to teach student nurses at
Fulham/Charing Cross, West London, Royal Masonic and Hammersmith Hospitals.
The ways in which domiciliary staff co-operated with the other two
branches of the health service are described in the following paragraphs
on particular services.
Health Centres (National Health Service Act, 1946, Section 21)
The National Health Service Act, 1946, made it a duty which, for
various reasons has not been insisted upon, for every local health
authority to provide, equip, and maintain to the satisfaction o£ the
Minister premises which shall be called "Health Centres" at which facilities
shall be available for all or any of the following purposes:-
General medical, dental or pharmaceutical services, services of
the local health authority, services of specialists and health
education, and "A Local Health Authority shall to the satisfaction
of the Minister provide staff for any Health Centre provided by
them".
In July,1965, the Minister of Health asked for information on the
Council's long-term plans for the development of the Health and Welfare
Services. The period for which information was required was the 10 years
from 1st. April, 1966, to 31st. March, 1976; and in addition, information
in the year (1965/66) was requested. It was therefore essential to forecast
the demands and needs of the various services to decide how they
could best be met in the future.
It was felt that the needs of the Borough would best be served by
creating Health Centres for the practice of preventive medicine and for
the promotion of the mental and physical health of the family. These
Centres would provide all or most of the following:-
Accommodation for General Practitioners
Maternity and Child Health Facilities
School Treatment Centre
Information/Advice Centre
Additional Special Clinics as necessary e.g.
Geriatric/Chiropody.
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