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and at the same time many new duties had to be learned and absorbed. None the less, by
the end of the year, the department had taken shape and some new developments had been
initiated.
Organisation It was the intention that from the beginning the department should
come to regard itself as one health service, and that the former separate elements
should be merged into one functional unit. Such an achievement was not possible overnight,
due mainly to the very size of the whole department. A further obstacle was the
fact that new offices at 159/167, Upper Street, N.1, were still in the course of
renovation and were ready only for partial occupation from 1st September, 1965. For
this reason, the former London County Council services remained at the Divisional Health
Office at 53 Clerkenwell Road, E.C.I. The mental health team was established at the
Finsbury Health Centre, Pine Street. E.C.I.
The pattern of organisation was influenced by the committee system, under which two
service committees were formed, the Environmental Health Committee and the Personal
Health Committee. Two branches of the department were accordingly set up. The one for
Environmental Health comprised the former Metropolitan Borough public health functions,
including preferential housing and Public Control functions devolved from the London
County Council. The one for Personal Health comprised the former London County Council
health functions and included the home nursing previously administered voluntarily. On
the administrative side an Environmental Health Division and a Personal Health Division
were formed, and services common to both were merged in a General Administration Division,
e.g. finance, staffing, supplies, premises, transport and committee work.
Delegated Authority A valuable contribution to the smooth continuance of the
services after the appointed day was the decision of the Committees to delegate to me
authority for day-to-day administration. This was done through terms of reference which
are printed in Appendix A. In broad outline, they instructed me to continue to administer
the transferred services on the same lines as prior to 1st April, 1965, subject to
decisions subsequently made by the Council. One good result of this was that, especially
with the rapidly developing services inherited from the London County Council, committee
reports were in the main confined to policy questions on the introduction of new services
and the expansion of existing services. I appreciate the guidance and encouragement, as
well as judicious criticism, given by the Committees, and in particular by their Chairmen
and Vice-chairmen in and out of committee.
This report presents a landmark in the administration of Public Health in Inner
London. For the first time, all the main local health functions have been entrusted to
one Authority, and as Medical Officer of Health it is my privilege to report on these
functions in one volume. I am conscious that it follows in the tradition of a long series
of reports of my predecessors under the Metropolitan Boroughs and the London County
Council.The volume incorporates my report as Principal School Medical Officer and the
report of the Chief Dental Officer. As this is a first report, I have gone into some
detail in describing each service. It may not be necessary to do the same in future
reports which will describe developments of the basic details in this report.
S. KING.
Medical Officer of Health.
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