London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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The Chief Officer of Supplies is responsible for the maintenance and repair of all Maintenance
ambulance vehicles. The work is undertaken in the Mechanical Works Division of the and repairs
Supplies Department at the central repair depot at Wandsworth. Periodically, all
vehicles are taken into the central repair depot for overhaul but subsidiary repair workshops
for the more minor repairs and servicing are located at each of the six general
stations. The mechanics employed in these workshops are under the direction of the
central repair depot. As mentioned above, ambulances stationed at the accident
ambulance stations are serviced on the site by a mobile unit based on the central repair
depot.
Finance
The total cost of ambulance services in London has risen from £320,619 in 1947/48
(the last financial year before the commencement of the National Health Service) to
£1,063,819 in 1957/58, including £102,162 for the agency and supplementary services.
This very marked increase in costs is due partly to increases in wages and in the cost of
materials and supplies but is largely due to the increased amount of ambulance work.
The following table shows a percentage analysis of costs (1957/58) relating to the directly provided service :
| Percentage of total | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| Operative staff | 59.6 | 571,969 |
| Running and maintenance of vehicles | 18.5 | 177,416 |
| Provision of vehicles | 7.2 | 68,905 |
| Maintenance of buildings, furniture, etc. | 4.0 | 38,352 |
| Provision of land and buildings (notional annual expenditure) | 1.5 | 14,407 |
| Other expenditure | 9.2 | 88,299 |
| 100.0 | 959,348 |
The following is a summary of the actual costs incurred during the financial year 1957/58 relating to the directly provided, agency and supplementary services :
| s. d. | s. d. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directly provided Service | |||||
| (a) by road | 4,255,608 | 1,015,649 | 959,348 | 4 6 | 18 10 |
| (b) by rail | 126,811 | 1,678 | 2,632 | 5 | 31 4 |
| Hospital Car Service | 1,168,266 | 144,305 | 48,806 | 10 | 5 0 |
| Joint Committe of St. John | |||||
| and British Red Cross | 428,860 | 24,786 | 52,710 | 2 5 | 42 6 |
| West Ham County | |||||
| Borough Council | 4,735 | 531 | 323 | 1 4 | 12 2 |
| Whole Service | 5,984,280 | 1,239,949 | £1,063,819 | 3 7 | 17 2 |
NOTE.—The above table is based upon the Ministry of Health's definition of a ' patient' for statistical purposes,
i.e., one person carried once in one direction.
Civil Defence
In peace-time, the responsibilities of the Council under the Civil Defence Regulations
of 1949 and 1954 are :
(a) to make plans for the expansion in the event of war of their ambulance
services ;
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