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gress has bean slower than the Council would wish, due to the
difficulty of obtaining additional qualified staff and the
often very considerable difficulty in obtaining access for
inspection, (many of the occupiers going out to work), progress
has been made, and landlords or owners have in general been cooperative,
and there has been a minimum of evictions which
was at one time feared.
The statistical section of an annual report cannot be completed
until information is obtained from the Registrar General
concerning births and deaths, and as this is not usually
available until the end of April or in May, this will be the
final report before the amalgamation of the Borough of Hampstead
with the Boroughs of Holborn and St. Pancras.
On the amalgamation the responsibility for the health
services which are at present provided by the London County
Council will be transferred to the new Borough of Camden.
These include some services which were transferred to the
London County Council in 1948 and some which were not previously
provided by the metropolitan boroughs. In general the
services were at a low ebb in 1948. The maternity and child
welfare services were intentionally reduced during the war to
encourage the evacuation of expectant mothers and young
children, or to discourage their return to London, following
which building and even the repair of houses had to be very
strictly controlled. The National Health Service Act was
passed in 1946, although it did not come into effect until 1948,
and in the intervening period there was not any great encouragement
to extend services which were to be transferred,
especially if this would in any way hinder programmes on
housing which were the major preoccupation in the immediate
post-war years.
Some of the services which were transferred have changed
a good deal. Formerly home helps were mainly used in
maternity cases and in some cases of illness, whereas now the
majority of cases helped are old people. The Mental Health
services are a new and expanding service, and even the London
County Council has a limited experience in this field.
No one could deny the excellence of the health services
provided by the London County Council, but in the administration
of personal health services there are certain drawbacks in
dealing with a population in excess of 3 millions. It is
natural to try and provide a" uniform service and, in areas
where, in 1948, the services were not up to the full standard,
the services have been brought into line with the rest of