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HEALTH CENTRES
Under Section 21 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, it is the duty of
every local health authority to provide, equip and maintain premises at which
facilities shall be available for all or any of the following purposes:—
(a) for the provision of general medical services under Part IV of this Act
by medical practitioners;
(b) for the provision of general dental services under Part IV of this Act by
dental practitioners;
(c) for the provision of pharmaceutical services under Part IV of this Act by
registered pharmacists;
(d) for the provision or organisation of any of the services which the local
health authority are required or empowered to provide;
(e) for the provision of the services of specialists or other services provided
for out-patients under Part II of this Act; or
(f) for the exercise of the powers conferred on the local health authority by
Section 179 of the Public Health Act, 1936, for the publication of information
on questions relating to health or disease, and for the delivery of
lectures and the display of pictures or cinematograph films in which such
questions are dealt with.
Ministry of Health Circular 7/67 on Health Centres referred to the recent
considerable upsurge of interest in the provision of health centres and gave advice
on the planning, preparation and submission of schemes for health centres with a
view to standardising procedures and so reduce the time needed for processing each
scheme. New arrangements for direct payments to general medical practitioners
practising at health centres in respect of expenditure on rent and rates and on
ancillary staff were set out in Circular E.C.L. 30/67 to encourage the presentation
of plans for expansion in health centre provision.
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