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(b) Staff Examinations
The memorandum also made reference to a circular issued in 1950
advising local authorities to arrange routine chest X-rays for all members
of their staffs coming into contact with children, both prior to
appointment and annually thereafter. The County Council has implemented
this circular so far as staff of day nurseries is concerned, but
not as yet in respect of Health Visitors, Medical Officers and other
members of the Health Area staff. The reason for this is (so I believe)
once again bound up with the unfortunate division of administrative
responsibility. Routine X-rays carried out by mass X-ray units are
free of charge to the local authority, but where such examinations
are carried out at a chest clinic the Regional Hospital Board expects
the local authority to pay a fee of £2 2s. per X-ray. The Regional
Hospital Board adamantly refuse to waive this ridiculous distinction,
whilst the County Council are unwilling to undertake the additional
expense involved for the two years out of every three that we shall
be without a visit from the mass X-ray unit.
Fortunately most of the members of the Health Area staff voluntarily
submit themselves for X-ray examinations at intervals if and
when a mass X-ray unit is working in the vicinity, although this sometimes
involve what should be an unnecessary journey and an irritating
waste of valuable time.
Ministry of Education regulations already provide for the routine
chest X-ray of new entrants to the teaching profession, but at present
annual re-examinations remain a matter at the discretion of each local
education authority. Arising out of a report to the Barking Committee
lor Education you decided to refer to the Staff Consultative Committee
a suggestion that all teachers should submit themselves to annual chest
X-ray examination, and the staff side has agreed to take this matter
to their members. I confidently expect that the teachers will respond
favourably to the suggestion.
I also earnestly hope that the administrative tangle will be sorted
out before the since either teachers will have to travel to mass X-ray
units in distance parts of London or the County Council will have to
foot the bill for X-rays taken on the miniature camera installed in the
Chest Clinic.
(c) Mass Radiography
The memorandum naively suggested that the strategic use of mass
radiography units should be "a matter for consultation between the
'director of the -fit and the Medical Officer of Health". In practise
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