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6
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL MEDICAL OFFICER
For the Year 1928.
(1) STAFF.
The Public Health staff is an administrative unit, albeit
responsible to two separate committees of the Council. The Medical
Officer of Health and the School Medical Officer are one. It is the
same with the Assistant School Medical Officer, the Dental Officer
and the other officers engaged in the promotion of public health
among the school children.
The Ministry of Health was established in 1918 with the
object of promoting co-ordination amongst the different Public
Health Services, and in writing a report for a year ten years after
the inception of the Ministry, it can hardly be out of place to ask
seriously if and whether the time has not come when the aims
which called the Ministry into existence may not be achieved.
The Central Government, in conformity with past precedent,
will await a definite lead from Local Authorities and it seems to
me reasonable that you should give this necessary lead to the
Government by unifying your divided committee work in the
supervision of this single Service.
During the year under review the question of increasing the
medical staff has been entertained.
The clerical staff during the year has been increased, Mr. D.
Tonkin having been released from the Education Department
to work in this department. This has relieved the complaint I made
last year that the then present amount of clerical work took more
than the ordinary working hours of the then present clerical staff,
but such has been the growth of the clerical work that the staff
are now again working under pressure.