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4
Important as the relationship between the Hospital Service
and the Health Department may be, it appears to me that the
relationship between the General Medical Practitioner and the
Health Department must be even closer. It is the General Practitioner
who sees the early signs of disease or deviation from normal
health. He it is who sees the family as a whole. He it is who can
most intimately know the home conditions and other factors
affecting the health of his patients. Therefore, I say that the
General Practitioners have unrivalled opportunities for the advancement
of preventive medicine and by close liaison with the Health
Department can materially advance our knowledge of, and progress
in Public Health.
It should be the aim of the Health Department to encourage
all activities which will help to prevent illness and enable the
community to live a healthier life, and I have for a long time
felt that the average person does not take full advantage of the
facilities at his disposal. Enfield is more fortunately placed than
many other districts in its possession of Parks and Open Spaces
and full use should be made of the facilities provided. Let us
use them to the maximum. Each one of us should take the opportunities
presented to participate in some form of outdoor activity
to give the necessary exercise and training essential to good
health. This should be graded according to age, sex and physical
ability and there is excuse only for few to lead a completely
sedentary life. Opportunities exist in Enfield for healthy outdoor
exercise and, with modern conditions of life, it becomes more and
more important still for those opportunities to be seized. Winter
conditions need be no excuse for neglecting the opportunities.
Many outdoor activities can still be followed and indoor physical
training classes for adults have an important part to play in the
maintenance of good health. "Good Health" cannot be magically
summoned from a glass or a bottle, and means more than freedom
from illness, so we must consider all the factors affecting healthconditions
at home including, particularly, facilities for healthy
beneficial sleep, because, do not let us forget, a large proportion
of our time is spent in bed—conditions at work and in travelling
to and from work—conditions under which we select to spend our
leisure.
The main aspects of the Environmental Health Services are
covered in the various paragraphs of my report and it is only
necessary for me to refer briefly to a few points.
Last year I recorded my anxiety at the continued decrease
in the number of infants who receive vaccination. No material
improvement appears to have occurred during 1950. I do not
think it is fully realised the number of contacts of smallpox that