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CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT
Since 1st April 1965 (the inception of the Children's Department in the
London Borough of Barking) 86 medical examination forms completed by local
general practitioners have been perused by the Deputy Medical Officer of Health.
These children were boarded out into foster homes.
Each of the four Children's Homes have been visited by my Deputy, and were
found to be in good order.
Close liaison with the Children's Department is ensured by the attendance of
one of my staff at Children's Committee meetings. Only if there is close liaison
between departments at the field worker level will we work in harmony, and thus
give children in need the benefit of our combined knowledge and experience.
VACCINATION AND IMMUNISATION
In September 1965, a meeting was held to discuss a new programme for
immunisation, which would be uniform throughout the six new London Boroughs from
Essex. A representative medical officer from each area attended, and after
various deliberations and correspondence with the Ministry, a letter went out in
November 1965 to all Barking medical practitioners as well as to the clinics,
submitting a suggested scheme of immunisation. This scheme has been used in the
clinics ever since, the main innovation being the simultaneous administration of
oral polio and triple vaccine from age 3 months. This curtails the number of
attendances necessary, and the protection acquired is in no way reduced.
In September 1965, a letter was received from the Ministry of Health
suggesting that now that anthrax vaccine had been made efficacious and safe, it
should be offered to workers in those factories where there was a risk of
acquiring the disease.
In December 1965, a draft circular was received from the Ministry concerning
recent research into measles vaccination, stating that they were prepared to
consider proposals from local authorities for arrangements to offer measles
vaccination. However, they thought it premature to embark on any general programme
of immunisation.
The following statistics relate to persons protected either by general
practitioners or local health authority medical officers.