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The Hospital with a special grant from the Regional Board built an Assessment
Unit to be under the charge of the Consultant Paediatrician. Dr. Burkinshaw
kindly sought our help to make this a combined Hospital and local authority
service and agreed to support an application for a further joint appointment of
a Corporation medical officer with special training in the subject of developmental
assessment. It was anticipated that the Unit would open early in 1973.
Child Health Centres
The demand for this service which combines the education of parents,
developmental assessment and immunisation of children has again fallen
this year overall, although the numbers of attendances at well-baby clinics
run by general practitioners and health visitors has increased. The overall
fall in attendances is no doubt due to the falling birth rate.
For detailed figures see Appendix page 102.
Welfare Foods and Medicaments
The price of National Dried Milk was maintained at 20p per carton of
20 ozs. during 1972, but a steady decline in sales was recorded.
The supply of Orange Juice was officially discontinued by the Department
of Health and Social Security as a welfare food item on 31st December
1971, and all stock was sold by April 1972. Vitamin C was included with the
Vitamin A & D tablets at a cost of 6p per container.
HEALTH CENTRES
The Centre at New Addington has functioned reasonably well but there
have been difficulties in recruiting and retaining reception and clerical staff.
The pressures on these sections have been recognised by the Department of
Health, and a new building guide allows much more generous accommodation
for these officers.
The South Norwood Health Centre plans were altered to include these
improvements and a tender was accepted in December for its construction.
Doctors in the South Croydon area of the borough expressed an interest
in a Health Centre and the Health Committee agreed to an official approach
to the Executive CounciI.