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19
Local Government Services.
This part of the health service comprises the local and
domiciliary services which are appropriate to local government.
The Bill unifies these services in the existing major local
authorities—the county and county borough councils.
For most of these services, the Bill requires the local health
authorities to indicate to the Minister the way in which they
intend to carry out their responsibilities, and it requires the
Minister's general approval.
(a) Maternity and Child Welfare and Midwifery.
The Bill makes it the duty of every local health authority
to make arrangements for the care of expectant and nursing
mothers and of children under five years of age who are not
attending school and who are therefore not covered by the school
health service. Their arrangements will include ante-natal clinics
for the care of expectant mothers, post-natal and child clinics,
the provision of such things as cod liver oil, fruit juices and
other dietary supplements and, in particular, a priority dental
service for expectant mothers and young children.
The Bill transfers these functions from such of the present
"minor" authorities—the non-county boroughs and the district
councils—as are at present exercising them. But, for coordination
with the school health services, provision is made
for delegating child welfare to " district executives " in the same
way— and with the same rights for the minor authorities—as
is done for the school health service under the Education
Act, 1944.
The same authorities— county and county borough
councils—are also made the supervising authorities for the
purposes of the existing Midwives Acts; that is to say, they
are made responsible for a complete midwifery service for
mothers who are confined at home.
Mothers who for any reason have their confinements in a
hospital or maternity home will be in the care of the hospital
and specialist service. It will also be the object of that service
to provide locally for all specialist obstetric or gynaecological
care which may be needed in relation to the ordinary domiciliary
service of the local authority. The requirements of Ministerial
approval to the local authority's arrangements will link together
the two aspects of the maternity service— domiciliary and
institutional.