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8
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have pleasure in presenting to you my report on the health of the Borough
during 1970.
This has been an eventful year so far as decisions on the future functions
of the Health Services Directorate are concerned. There have been and will be
important changes both as a consequence of legislation, and of decisions by the
Council. As a result of a decision by the Council to include within one department
all its functions relating to housing, the public health inspectorate has been
transferred to the Directorate of Housing, while continuing to be responsible to
me, as Medical Officer of Health, for all their environmental health work. The
Education (Handicapped Children) Act 1970 will transfer responsibility for
junior training schools from 1 April 1971 to the Inner London Education Authority.
It is satisfactory to note that both the junior training schools to be transferred
(with plans for the replacement of one of them by a larger school) have been
provided by the Council. There were no such schools in the Borough prior to 1965.
The new Directorate of Social Services to be set up by 1 April 1971 under
the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 will assume responsibility for a
number of services including day nurseries, home help and mental health, at
present the concern of my Directorate. Finally the home nursing service, hitherto
provided by the Lambeth District Nursing Joint Committee on the Council's
behalf, will from 1 April 1971, be operated directly by the Health Directorate.
These changes will require a substantial reorganisation within the Directorate.
The coming changes and the need to plan for them have not prevented and
will not prevent the expansion and improvement of existing services and the
planning of future developments both of services to remain with the Health
Directorate and those to be transferred elsewhere. Expansion of both clinic and
domiciliary chiropody services and of the domiciliary family planning service has
continued, though the rate of improvement of the former has been limited by
shortage of qualified chiropodists. This year saw the opening by the Mayor of the
first two purpose-built health services premises to be completed within the life
of the London Borough — Windmill Junior Training School (which will pass to
the I.L.E.A. next April) and Streatham Common Maternity and Child Health
Centre. The up-dated 5 year capital building programme includes plans for eight
health centres, six day nurseries, one junior training school, two adult training
centres, two psychiatric day centres, and one (eventually two) hostel each for
mentally handicapped children and adults.
An interesting development of co-operation with St. Thomas' hospital has
arisen in the planning of a psychiatric day centre at South Western hospital. The
hospital will provide and adapt ground floor accommodation and let it to the
Council, and will supply meals and cleaning services. The Council will be responsible
for staffing and operation of the centre which, it is expected, will be ready for use
early in 1971. Close association with the hospital psychiatric and psycho-geriatric
services will-be an important feature in the operation of the centre.