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main, the facilities were already being provided by the County
Boroughs and developments rather than innovations were necessary.
Except for health centres, which have failed to appear and tha.
dental service, which has had a continuous struggle to maintain
existing standards, this planned evolution has continued throughout
the decade now under review.
Dealing with the separate sections of the National Health
Service Act: -
Section 21, Health Centres
In 1950, the Corporation received a decision from the
Croydon Executive Council that there was no special need for a
health centre to serve the New Addington housing estate. Consequently,
the Corporation could not submit any scheme for a
health centre of the type envisaged when the Health Service was
being introduced. General practitioners in New Addington have
since built their own accommodation and thus finally settled the
question. Nevertheless, they attend the local authority antenatal
clinic, where they see their booked maternity cases, and
the hospital authorities may use these Oouncil premises for some
out-patient sessions. To this extent, there may be some
opportunity for a common meeting place for personnel from the
three parts of the National Health Service.
The chief regret that health centres have not materialised
is the absence of buildings where such frequent direct personal
contacts would be possible, and the tripartite service thus
unified.
Section 22, Care of mothers and Children
The co-ordination of hospital and domiciliary obstetrics has
been steadily developed, despite the partition of the service.
As already mentioned, in the New Addington area, general practitioners
are entirely responsible with the domiciliary midwives
for ante-and-post-natal supervision. There is, however, centralisation
of records even for this outlying clinic, so that there
is close co-ordination with all other obstetric services. Since
1948, mothercraft and relaxation exercise classes have become
available for all expectant mothers in Croydon whether booked
for home or hospital confinement.