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centres offering facilities on the premises for the variety of
activities previously outlined in relation to the new Doddington
Child Health Centre is in the true interest of the individual
patient, the individual practitioner, the community, and the
nation. Pooling of skills in a multidisciplinary setting and
greater convenience for the public are two prime advantages
the closure a year ago of Battersea General Hospital and the
closing of the Casualty Department of the Bolingbroke Hospital
in 1972 served as sharp reminders of the need to cater for as
many patients as possible, including those sustaining minor
injuries, in other than a hospital setting. In this context preparations
in relation to the three firm health centre projects in
the Borough — at Bridge Lane, Battersea; Brocklebank, Central
Wandsworth; and Larch Road, Balham - proceeded surely during
the year and the possibility of two further such projects, at Burtop
Road and in association with St.George's Hospital at Tooting,
were being actively examined in the light of the interest
expressed by local general practitioners. One feature especially
worthy of mention was the formation of the League of Friends of
the Bridge Lane, Battersea, Health Centre — the first of its kind
in the country - with the aim of providing financial and other
assistance to residents within the Queenstown, St.Mary's Park
and Latchmere wards of the Borough, all general practitioners
practising in or adjoining North Battersea being informed to this
effect. During the year the Council endorsed proposals for
improvements relating to the Fairfield, Chatham Hall and Tooting
Child Health Centres.
Clearly if care in the community is to become a reality
rather than a pious hope, local interlocking of the health and
social services is quintessential. Here in Wandsworth it is
heartening to record that the liaison committee established in
1971 to foster such collaboration continued to meet at quarterly
intervals throughout 1972 and to discuss fruitfully topics of
mutual interest, for example, the improvement of communications
between hospitals, general practitioners and the community
health and social services; the production of a local information
booklet; the provision of telephones for the severely handicapped
and of other services under the Chronically Sick and Disabled
Persons Act, 1970; the need for wide publicity in relation to the
family planning facilities available; and last but not least the
value of co-operative ventures such as the Blackshaw Road Day
Observation Unit. A detailed review prepared in the summer of
1971 of the current fields of activity of major local authorities
in which it seems likely that there will be a continuing need for
medical and/or nursing advice is appended to this preface
(Appendix 'A'). The challenge to community medicine and