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8
work continued to be carried out by the same medical, dental,
nursing and administrative staff working in the same premises as
before.
DOMESTIC HELP SERVICE.
There is a gradually-increasing number of applications for
domestic help on behalf of certain types of patients (aged and
infirm, chronic sick and tuberculous) for whom accommodation
cannot be found in institutions owing to the shortage of hospital
beds, and the prevalent shortage of beds will probably prove to be
a great strain on available domestic help facilities for some time
to come.
Since its inauguration in 1946, the domestic help service has
grown rapidly; and, even without the additional expansion which
will be required to meet the shortage of hospital beds, I anticipate
that it will manifest the growth of any healthy young organism by
progressive expansion until it becomes one of the most important
of the local health services. There has been a progressive increase
in the amount of help supplied and in the number of domestic
helpers employed, and fuller information regarding the service
is given on pages 90 to 96.
STAFF.
As was the case during 1947, one of the outstanding problems
of 1948 was the difficulty of recruiting the staff necessary to carry
out essential services.
Dr. Hilda Menzies, Deputy Medical Officer of Health, left the
Council's service at the end of September on her appointment as
Senior Administrative Officer for Maternity and Child Welfare,
County of Essex, and Dr. Mary Gilchrist was promoted to fill the
appointment of Deputy Medical Officer of Health vacated by Dr.
Menzies. The vacancy for Assistant Medical Officer of Health,
caused by Dr. Gilchrist's promotion, had not been filled by the
end of the year, when it appeared that it may not be filled for many
months. At the end of July, 1947 the then Deputy Medical Officer
of Health (Dr. Rennie) left the Council's service on his appointment
as Medical Officer of Health, City of Carlisle, and it was not until
April, 1948 that the vacancy caused by Dr. Menzies' promotion
as Deputy was filled. It will be seen that from July, 1947 until
December, 1948—a period of some eighteen months—the department
has been short of the services of an Assistant Medical Officer
for as long as twelve months. During these periods of shortage of