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Hostel.
Paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) can best be met by the institution of a hostel by the welfare authority. Such a hostel
should be devised :
(1) To accommodate the mother for a period before the birth of the child as may be necessary ;
(2) To accommodate the mother and her child, if the mother does not desire to be separated from her baby
and desires non-resident work—when the mother finds work, both she and the baby would probably leave
the hostel ;
(3) To accommodate the mother and her child until the mother finds work, that is, if she wishes to be separated
from the child—the child in these circumstances would probably remain in the hostel ;
(4) To accommodate the child only until the mother can make other arrangements, e.g., adoption, foster
mother.
In connection with such a hostel it would be necessary at some stage to place the children with suitable foster
mothers approved and paid by the welfare authority.
There are some 100 illegitimate babies born each year in Willesden, and a number of cases of such pregnancies
and children with or without their mothers would require to be accommodated temporarily in the hostel as indicated
above. It is difficult to say exactly the amount of accommodation which would be required in a hostel of this
description. It is suggested that the St. Monica's Home Hospital, Brondesbury Park, would be suitable, provided
there were a sufficient number of approved foster mothers for the care of the children at later stages.
GEORGE F. BUCHAN,
Medical Officer of Health.
1st March, 1944.
APPENDIX B.
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH SERVICE.
Summary of the Government's Proposals with Notes by the
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
1. Scope of the New Service.
(a) A National Health Service will be established.
(b) There will be nothing to prevent those who prefer to make private arrangements for medical attention
from doing so. But for all who wish to use the service it will provide a complete range of personal health
care—general and specialist, at home, in the hospital and elsewhere.
(c) The service will be free, apart from possible charges for certain appliances.
2. Structure of the Service.
(a) Central.
(1) Central responsibility to Parliament and the people will lie with the Minister of Health.
(2) At the side of the Minister there will be a professional and expert advisory body to be called the
Central Health Services Council. The Council will be a statutory body and its function will
be to provide professional guidance on technical aspects of the Health Service.
(b) Local.
(1) Local responsibility will be based on the county and county borough councils, which are the
major local government authorities now. They will administer the new service partly in their
present separate capacities over their present areas, partly as the needs of the service require
—by combined action in joint boards over larger areas.
(2) Areas suitable for hospital organization will be designated by the Minister after consultation
with local interests.
(3) The county and county borough councils in each area will combine to form a joint authority
to administer the hospital, consultant and allied services ; in the few cases where the area
coincides with an existing county area the authority will be the county council of that area.
(4) At the side of each new joint authority there will be a consultative body—professional and expert
—to be called the Local Health Services Council.
(5) Each joint authority will also prepare and submit for the Minister's approval an " area plan
for securing a comprehensive Health Service for all kinds in its area.
(6) Ccunty and county borough councils combining for these duties of the new joint authority will
also severally be responsible for the local clinic and other services in accordance with the area
plan. Responsibility for child welfare will be specially assigned in whatever way child education
is assigned under the current Education Bill.