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plans were made for the transfer of the entire unit to a new suite of rooms at the headquarters office at
Upper Street, thus laying the foundation for further growth in activities. This transfer was made possible by
the extension of the headquarters office to include accommodation at 167 Upper Street which had previously
been let by the Borough Housing Department as a flat. Adaptation of this for office purposes provided
much needed extra office space in addition to allowing the improvement in the health education section's
accommodation to take place.
As a result of a detailed examination by the Personnel Officer of the management structure of the
nursing service carried out in the light of the "Mayston" Report, the Council adopted a new structure with
effect from 3rd November, 1971. It is anticipated that the strengthened organisation thus created will
help the nursing service to deal more effectively with the many and complex problems posed to it in an
area such as Islington.
In September the Council took the decision presaged in my report for 1970 to make the family planring
services in the Borough free of all charges with effect from 1st April, 1972. This decision was taken in the
light of the general and growing anxiety about the population problem generally, together with a number of
local factors. In 1970, 594 births, i.e. one in every six births to Borough residents, were illegitimate and, it
was estimated that in the same year the number of abortions on Borough residents carried out under the 1967
Abortion Act might well exceed 1,000. Islington was the first English local authority to take such a decision
and not unnaturally it attracted a good deal of publicity - the bulk, although not all, of which was favourable.
A number of other local authorities in London have since taken a similar decision; one borough was in fact
able to implement it in advance of Islington. It seems certain that family planning will ultimately be made
universally available free of charge as part of the National Health Service - perhaps as part of the major reorganisation
of the National Health Service anticipated in 1974.
Following the substantial changes of personnel in the senior management of the department which
took place in 1969-70, 1971 was a year of relative stability in this field. It is sad, however, to have to record
the death on 24th September, 1971, of Dr. Blyth Brooke who retired on 14th July, 1965, from the post of
Associate Medical Officer of Health. An appreciation of Dr. Blyth Brooke appears at page 5 .
In conclusion I wish to thank the chairmen and members of both the present and the former Health
Committees for their unfailing interest in and support of the work of the department and its staff. I also
wish to pay tribute to the staff of the department of all grades for their loyal support so freely given to me
personally and for their indefatigible efforts in pursuit of the department's aims. Acknowledgement is also
due to the many other individuals and organisations, both inside and outside the Council, for their goodwill
and co-operation without which the smooth operation of the department would have been impossible.
C.BURNS
Director of Public Health and
Medical Officer of Health