View report page

8
SECTION B.
SUMMARY OF HEALTH SERVICES.
It is difficult to define where health services begin and end.
I do not like the present-day classification of Health Services
and Public Health Services, which only leads to confusion. The
former is in the main a treatment service. I am not in my own
mind satisfied that medical treatment plays a major part in the
promotion of health. The social factors are of more importance ;
for example, the provision of houses and homes by the District
Council has a real effect on health, as has an adequate food
supply, the cleansing of streets, the removal and disposal of
refuse, proper drainage and sewerage, a supply of pure water,
and sundry other services, only some of which are the responsibility
of the Council.
In the following paragraphs I do not attempt to place any
one service in priority over the others, nor to give details of
the year's work performed, but merely a statement of the
facilities and services provided for treatment and prevention of
disease and for promotion of health.
1. Health Services Rendered by the Council.
Such services as immunisation against diphtheria—which
were well advanced in Orpington—and the visiting of homes for
infectious disease, T.B., etc., by Health Visitors, ceased to be
exercised by your Council on 5th July, 1948.
Sanitary and Environmental Services.
I have reported on these services later in the report under
Sections C, D, E. F and G. These are the major services of your
Health Department.
A summary of the year's work is in the Appendices.
Inspection of Nursing Homes.
This is a delegated service. The two Nursing Homes in the
area provide accommodation as follows:
Number of Maternity beds 15
„ „ Other beds 3
Patients received during the year 34
These Homes were inspected on 3 occasions during the year.
There were no infringements of the local Bye-laws, and it
will be noticed from the above statistics that full use of the beds
provided was not made.