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LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY SERVICES
On the "appointed day "services which you had provided as a
welfare authority under the Public Health Act were transferred to the
Essex County Council, although the administration of certain of these
services was decentralised to the Barking Health Area Sub-Committee
for the purposes of day to day control.
Of the 29 members of the Health Area Sub-Committee, 15 are
members of the Borough Council, 7 (including the Chairman and ViceChairman
of the County Health Committee ex officio) are appointed
by the County Council, and of the remainder one is nominated by each
of four voluntary associations and one by each of the Ilford and
Barking Group Hospital Management Committee, the Local Executive
Council and the Local Medical Committee.
The meetings of this sub-committee are arranged to take place
immediately preceding meetings of your Public Health Committee,
thus helping to ensure the comprehensive consideration of all matters
affecting tl health of the people of Barking on the same evening.
The effort keep the environmental and personal health services in
one functional unit is also reflected in my joint appointment as Medical
Officer of I alth and Area Medical Officer, and by the fact that the
Public Health Department and Health Area Office are administered
as one—ne ssary financial adjustments being made between the
authorities ncerned in respect of joint use of administrative staff.
Despite this I think it true to say that you remain far from satisfied
with these arrangements. I believe I should be right in assuming
that your attitude was particularly well summarised in the following
extract fron a recent leading article in The Times, dealing with local
government and the need for re-organisation:—
"This legalistic nonsense has forced the transfer of many
essentially local and personal services to county councils,
which are often too big and remote to conduct them in the
right spirit and have frequently delegated them back for
daily management to 'minor' authorities perfectly capable
of assuming full responsibility."
health centres
On more nan one occasion my predecessor pointed out that
certain Barking clinics are already designated as health centres under
the National Health Service Act. Such designation was made largely
to enable the public dental scheme to be continued by arrangement
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