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5
Staff
and
General
On the personal side, I am glad to report that after an interval of
approximately eight months following the resignation of Dr. a.L. Thrower as
Deputy Medical Officer of Health, in 1957, Dr. J.P.J. Burns was appointed to
this post and commenced his duties in Islington in March of this year. The
greater part of his work is with the Borough, but as with his predecessor, the
appointment was made jointly with the London County Council, for which authority
Dr. Burns also acts as an Assistant Medical Officer. This joint appointment serves
a most useful liaison purpose on occasions, particularly when investigations into
infectious disease outbreaks or occurrences have to be made which may affect the
respective responsibilities both of the County Council and the Borough Council.
Dr. Burns was appointed from his previous post as Deputy Medical Officer of Health,
Willesden, and Senior Assistant Medical Officer, Middlesex County Council, and I
am pleased to welcome him to the Department.
The National Health Service Act administratively severed the personal health
services from the environmental in the Borough, but there are so many points at
which they have to be related in practice that the maximum measures of co-operation
between the respective Authorities are necessary if the best is to be done for the
welfare of the people living in the Borough, and I am therefore pleased to express
again my thanks to Dr. Wilfrid G. Harding, Divisional Medical Officer, Health
Division 3, and to all members of his Divisional staff for their continued cooperation,
both formal and informal, during the year with this Department.
With respect to the staff of the Public Health Department, I have again to
express my personal appreciation both to Mr. W.C. Bartlett, Chief Public Health
Inspector, and Mr. H. Plinston, Deputy Chief Public Health Inspector, who have had
a particularly difficult year arising out of the shortcomings of the Inspector
establishment; Mr. E.J. Sharp, Chief Clerk, and the Clerical staff under his charge,
the Infectious Disease and Old People's visiting staff, and the other members of
the Department.
I have again to refer to the value to local government of good relationships
between the departmental Chief and the respective Chairmen of Committees and I am
pleased to have had the continued support of the sane two Chairmen with whom the
Medical Officer of Health here is particularly concerned, namely, Alderman A.J.
Rogers of the Public Health Committee and Councillor E.J.W. Bayliss of the Housing
Committee, and their respective Committees, who have always given the most careful
consideration to the various matters I have been privileged to place before them.
V. FREEMAN
Medical Officer of Health.