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6
called for in the installation, in housing estates, of heating
appliances capable of burning smokeless fuels. The availability
of the latter is an important aspect which is, no doubt,
receiving the attention both of the Government and the
various agencies concerned with their production. The implementation
of the Clean Air Act also raises problems of staffing
and it has not yet been decided whether the public health
inspectors will be called upon to undertake, not only the
considerable task of detection of smoke nuisances (which
they already exercise as a Public Health Act function), but
also the function of examining and reporting upon existing
heating appliances in the home and advising on the types of
installations by which they should be replaced. The problem
of health education of the public in connection with the
declaration of smokeless zones is another matter which
introduces the problem of staffing, and, indeed, this applies
to health education in general.
In my 1954 report I stated that " A good case could be
made for the appointment of a Health Education Officer to
serve the Borough or such wider area as appeared to be
indicated," and I am becoming more than ever convinced
that such a development may be necessary. A comprehensive
policy of health education is a fairly costly matter and one
of the main difficulties is the fact that health education is
regarded in governmental circles as a matter for the Local
Health Authority (The Kent County Council) under Section
28 of the National Health Serice Act, 1946 dealing with
Prevention of Illness Care and After Care, and it is often
forgotten that county districts also have a responsibility for
this matter under Section 179 of the Public Health Act of
1936. This dichotomy of function is a real stumbling block
from the point of view of instituting a full programme of
health education in the Borough. The need to disseminate
accurate information on personal hygiene, on the prevention
of accidents in the home and on the principles of healthy
living in general, as well as on the nature and meaning of
health, is becoming one of the most important aspects of
health administration. This is dictated, not only by the needs
of the individual, but by the need, also, for economy in the
use of the National Health Service, the cost of which has
been rising from year to year.
Among the environmental problems which remain. the
most important is, undoubtedly, the lack of adequate housing,
particularly for young married couples and for the aged, and
this in spite of great strides which have been made in recenyears
by the housing authority. I wish to acknowledge tne
sympathetic treatment by the Council of many tuberculous
families who have been rehoused during the year in the
interests of the prevention of spread of this disease.