London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hornchurch 1959

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornchurch]

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10
SECTION B.
GENERAL PROVISION OF HEALTH SERVICES FOR THE
AREA.
Staffing.
It is with much pleasure that 1 note the success of Mr. M. A.
Jackson, our Pupil, in securing the Public Health Inspectors' Certificate
of the Royal Society of Health and Public Health Inspectors' Joint
Board.
It is also very gratifying to record that Messrs. J. Goodwin and
G. H. Smith obtained the Smoke Inspectors' Certificate of the Royal
Society of Health.
The establishment of the Department was increased during the
year by one Public Health Inspector and a vacancy in the Clerical staff
was filled by the appointment of a Junior Clerical Assistant from the
Pool of Juniors.
Medical Examinations—Staff.
Staff arrangements remain as last year.
During the year arrangements were made for the examination of
216 (206) employees or prospective employees—63 (58) permanent and
153 (127) temporary. The 1958 figures are given in parentheses.
Public Health Propaganda.
Our routine talks to local organisations, poster and leaflet displays,
occasional film shows and the like continued.
The commencement of our smoke control programme demanded an
emphasis on this facet of our work.
The most interesting personal happening was my attendance at the
Summer School of the Central Council for Health Education at Bangor.
It should be emphasised that the syllabus—plus the manner in which
one found it carried out—dispelled any notion that this might be a
holiday in disguise.
Meetings with Commonwealth and foreign colleagues in discussion
groups, the wide variety of publicity measures dealt with and the general
conclusions discussed, represented merely a part of the wide programme.
It also showed how much scope there is for co-ordination in the field
of propaganda between Health Authorities entrusted with differing
functions. Apart from the claims of individual advertisements, television
seems to have secured results and unless health material is made palatable
its impact is going to be the less. The value of health propaganda is,
of course, much more difficult to assess than its commercial counterpart.
If a statement is made often enough and publicly enough it may well
be that its merits have less influence than its repetition.