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PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES
Health Services and Public Health Act, 1968
The Health Services and Public Health Act, 1968 amended and supplemented existing
legislation, principally the National Health Service Act 1946, the National Assistance
Act 1948, the Nurseries and Child Minders Regulation Act 1948, the Public Health Act
1936 and the Mental Health Act 1959.
Most of the provisions of the Act became law on 1 October 1968 but at the end of
the year some sections still remained to be enforced.
The main provisions relating to functions of the Health Department are given briefly
below. Further details are given in the relevant portions of this report.
Section 10-Midwifery
Enabled local health authorities to arrange for domiciliary midwives to attend on
women elsewhere than in their homes.
Section 11 - Health visiting and district nursing
Similarly allowed visiting by health visitors and attendance by district nurses on
persons elsewhere than in their own homes.
Section 12 — Care and after-care
Placed beyond doubt the power of local authorities to provide residential accommodation
for the care of persons to prevent them from becoming ill and the care of
persons suffering from illness or who have been suffering from illness, including mental
disorders.
Section 13 – Home Help Service
Imposed a duty from local health authorities to provide a home help service and enabled
them to make available laundry facilities for households receiving home help.
Section 14 — Charges for services
Included child-minding among the services provided under Section 22 of the National
Health Service Act 1946, for which local authorities may make charges according to the
recipients' ability to pay.
Sections 47 to 56 – Notifiable disease and food poisoning
Amended the definition of "notifiable disease" and amended existing provisions relating
to the reporting of notifiable diseases and food poisoning and the medical examination
of persons believed to be carriers of notifiable disease.
Section 60 – Nurseries and Child-Minders
Amended the 1948 Act to remove deficiencies which had become evident in its operation.
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