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The Cohen Committee in their review of the question of the provision of health Woodberry
Down
centres referred, to the Woodberry Down Health Centre but concluded that the centre Health
had not been in use long enough for positive lessons to be learnt from it. The general Centre
practitioner service at this comprehensive health centre was introduced on 1st July,
1953, and joint use of the centre by general practitioners and Council's staff has undoubtedly
facilitated co.operation between them as the centre superintendent is in
daily contact with the practitioners and the health visitors are at hand for consultation
on family problems and to undertake follow.up visits.
Co.operation between the Council's medical officers and general practitioners in School health
the field of school health is of long standing, and dates back to the early days of the service
school health service when, in several districts of London, local practitioners grouped
themselves together to set up voluntary committees administering and operating school
treatment centres ; several of these organisations are still flourishing today. During the
course of a child's school life comprehensive records in a pattern approved by the
Ministry of Education are kept about his state of health, and, both during and after
school life, these records can be made available, upon request, to the family doctor.
Arrangements exist in the school health service (and also in the maternity and child
welfare service) for the family doctor to be consulted when a child is found to need
special investigation or treatment.
In the home nursing service the traditional close co.operation with the general Homc
practitioner was maintained and more than three.quarters of the patients were referred nursmg
to the district nursing associations by them.
A similar close liaison with general practitioners has developed in connection with Domestic
the provision of home helps, including, in appropriate cases, the special types of service hclp servlce
such as the night home help and, for the particular assistance of the family with young
children, the early morning and evening home help.
Throughout the Council's mental health services the closest co.operation has been Mental health
maintained with general practitioners and the results of examinations by the Council's services
medical officers or any action taken by social workers or other officers at their request
have been communicated to general practitioners. As would be expected, only a small
proportion of alleged mental defectives were referred by general practitioners (the
majority being referred through the Education service or by hospitals) but in these
cases full information of any action contemplated has been supplied to the general
practitioner.
A very large proportion of the cases referred for action under the Lunacy and Mental
Treatment Acts was referred by general practitioners who, in addition to being informed
of the result of the enquiries made by the mental welfare officers, were advised whether
any other action, either within the mental health services or other services (such as the
provision of home helps, admission to establishments maintained by the Council's
Welfare department, etc.) was considered appropriate. It has been the practice of the
psychiatric social workers engaged in psychiatric care and after care service to get into
touch with the general practioner regarding every new patient referred and secure his
co.operation in the course of action decided upon.
Shortly after the inception of the National Health Service a booklet was prepared Information
setting out the various health services administered by the Council. This booklet has to general
been revised and contains for each division details of the facilities available at local Practltloners
clinics, etc. The Health Committee authorised the distribution of approximately 6,000
copies to general practitioners and social workers free of charge. In some divisions
street lists giving the location of the respective clinics and names and addresses of health
visitors for the various street addresses have been sent to general practitioners.
When staff are absent from duty owing to ill.health and unable to travel to the Medical
County Hall for medical examination, and in other cases where for any reason this
course appears to be indicated, it is a long.established practice of the Council's Staff
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