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18. TUBERCULOSIS SERVICE
The responsibility for the Tuberculosis service in the Borough is divided
between the Council and the Regional Hospital Board. The Board is responsible for
the provision of treatment at chest clinics whilst the Council is responsible for the
visiting and welfare services under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act.
The arrangement since the 1st April, 1965 until this year has been for the Council's
part of the work in Ealing and Acton to be discharged through the Ealing Chest
Clinic by staff either wholly or partly employed by the Council. The Southall part of
the borough has been covered, on the Council's behalf, by staff employed by the
London Borough of Hillingdon working from Uxbridge Chest Clinic, and appropriate
financial arrangements were made.
During the year the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board decided
to close Uxbridge Chest Clinic and transfer the treatment facilities to Hillingdon
Hospital. In view of this Hill ingdon Borough Council was unable to cover the service
in the Southall area and arrangements were made from the 25th July for this to be
undertaken directly by this Council. The effect of the reorganization is that the
tuberculosis visiting service for the whole of the London Borough of Ealing is now
provided by one unit which is based on Ealing Chest Clinic. The patients residing in
Southall still, however, need to attend Hillingdon Hospital for investigation and
treatment since the Regional Board have been unable to agree that this should be
undertaken from Ealing Chest Clinic.
The effect of the reorganisation on staffing is as follows. The chest physician
employed by the Regional Hospital Board at Ealing Chest Clinic has continued to be
employed part-time by the London Borough of Ealing in respect of the preventive
aspects of the work for patients residing in Ealing and Acton. The chest physicians
at Hillingdon Hospital are now responsible for the preventive aspect of the work in
Southall. They are employed by the Regional Hospital Board, which is reimbursed
for that part of the salary which relates to preventive work undertaken for Southall
residents.
The Council's medical social worker who previously undertook work at
Uxbridge Chest Clinic is available for work with patients in any part of the borough,
but the hospital authorities wish that as far as Southall patients are concerned when
attending hospital they shall be seen by the hospital's medical social workers. I
would expect, however, that any community care work would be referred to the
Council's medical social worker for her to carry out.
In the long term it is the Council's policy to integrate the tuberculosis visiting
service with the health visiting service. Indeed, tuberculosis visitors as such are no
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