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organism in 5 cases of food poisoning which occurred in a small
outbreak in a factory in Southwark. The persons infected were
not Southwark residents and the cause of the outbreak was
considered to be the pre-cooking of a steak pie served in the
Canteen. Suitable instructions were given to the person in
charge of the cooking am ngements at this particular canteen
and certain new equipment was provided.
Health Education
The General Purposes Sub-Committee of the Metropolitan
Boroughs Standing Joint Committee received during the year
representations from the Camberwell Borough Council supporting
the view of their Medical Officer of Health that the establishment
of a central board for health education, as recommended in
the report of the joint committee on health education (The Cohen
Report), was not the best method of securing an increase in
health education activities. The Medical Officer of Health of
Camberwell urged that this increase could best be secured by
expanding the Central Council for Health Education, which
already has wide experience of the subject, rather than by
setting up a new body. Camberwell Borough Council asked the
Standing Joint Committee to make appropriate recommendations to
the Ministry of Health, and the General Purposes Sub-Committee
asked for the views of this Council on this question. Your
Medical Officer of Health expressed views exactly similar to
those of the Medical Officer of Health of Camberwell and
emphasized that the Central Council for Health Education is
supported by funds raised by the local authorities and has
proved to be a valuable servant, often going out of its way to
assist local authorities with their own particular problems.
This is of fundamental importance, as health education is the
essence of public health and is a local authority function. By
its constitution the Central Council is able to serve a client,
which is preferable to the setting up of a new board with
centralized functions which may well decide on rigid lines of
health education, thereby preventing local authorities from
having any influence on the content of health education. For
these reasons the Medical Officer of Health considered that the
Central Council should be preserved. At the same time it is an
undoubted fact that expenditure in this field must be substantially
increased, if whatever body undertakes the co-ordination
and central organisation of health education, is to effectively
counteract the propaganda, inimicable to health, upon which so
nuch money is spent by commercial undertakings.
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