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6
Co-Ordination with Other Parts of the National Health Service
2.—The Health Committee has arranged for co-opted members
from other organisations to serve on the main Committee and its
Sub-Committees. At the time of writing there is no formal
co-ordinating machinery at member level, although individuals
serve on more than one of the 3 sections of the service. Such
machinery is now under consideration. With the boundaries of
the County Borough approximating to those of the Executive
Council and Hospital Management Committee, it seems unlikely
that any elaborate administrative arrangements will be made.
A technical co-ordinating committee to deal with Maternity
services convened by the Hospital Management Committee as
required was set up in 1949 and has met on four occasions. The
Medical Officer of Health is ex-officio a member of the Local
Medical Committee, the Group Hospital Medical Advisory
Committee, the Isolation and Maternity (Part II C.M.B. training)
Hospitals House Committees.
Close co-operation at all levels between the personnel of all
branches of the service has been maintained since the appointed
day.
A joint pamphlet was produced in 1948 giving information
of services available under the National Health Service Act.
Joint Use of Staff
3.—General practitioners assist on a sessional basis at 3 Infant
Welfare Centres, but this covers a minority of the clinics. At
one outlying Ante-Natal Clinic a general practitioner acts as the
local health authority clinic Medical Officer. To meet the
criticism that this meant his dealing with mothers on the lists of
other general practitioners, the clinic was made available for any
doctor to attend to examine his own cases. The method works
fairly well. In my view the fusion of local authority infant
welfare and maternity services with general practice must, in large
urban areas, await the development of a group practice system.
Assistant Medical Officers of Health act as clinical assistants in
Hospital out-patients departments, but as observers rather than
active members of the hospital staff. In all arrangements for
specialist services the principle of using hospital facilities and not
creating separate local authority schemes has been observed.