View report page

PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES
This section deals with those services which come under the
control of the Barking Health Area Sub-Committee of the Essex
County Council. I am grateful to Dr. G. C. Stewart, County Medical
Officer, for permission to comment on matters which I have dealt
with in my capacity of Area Medical Officer.
CLINICS AND HEALTH CENTRES
This year our efforts have been concentrated on the provision
of a new clinic for the rapidly growing Thames View Estate, and these
have been dealt with earlier in this report.
The premises of the Greatfields Clinic have been purchased by
the County Council, and the Borough Council agreed to rehouse the
present tenants; of the living accommodation on condition that the
first floor accommodation was made self-contained and the tenancy
made over the Borough Council for a family on their housing list.
This has left us with the whole of the ground floor accommodation
for clinic purposes—a much more satisfactory arrangement. We are
also taking the opportunity of providing some much needed improvements
to the fncilities—particularly necessary with the heavier use the
premises will have, at any rate until the Thames View Clinic is built.
Progress on the projected new Upney Clinic has been purposely
deferred to allow all possible priority for the Thames View Clinic,
but we have countinued negotiations and reached tentative agreement
with the Regional Hospital Board on the purchase of a site within
the grounds the Barking Hospital adjacent to Upney Lane. The
Health Area Sub-Committee and the Hospital Management Committee
agree to the transfer of the Orthoptic Clinic to the Paget Ward
Clinic durin£ the year. To improve the accommodation at the Central
Clinic would have involved unreasonable expenditure, and the suggestion
of moving the clinic to a vacant room in the East Street premises
could not be implemented after a further dental officer had been
appointed. We hope that this clinic, together with others temporarily
housed in the Paget Ward, will move to the new Upney Clinic when
this is erected.
Members have for some long time been anxious to see the Physiotherapy
and Orthopaedic Clinics moved from Manor School, partly
because the acceommodation had become quite inadequate for the
demands of the service and partly because the classrooms were so
badly needed for educational purposes. The Hospital Management
Page 39