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undertaking and that treatment of disease cannot be the "end all"
in a Welfare State. The Hospital Services should always have
before them the part that they themselves can play in the prevention
of the cause of disease for which the patient is being treated—cooperation
alone is not enough. It is more than ever important that
the General Practitioner should operate in the sphere of Preventive
Medicine and Public Health service.
I would end this introductory letter with a personal acknowledgment
of the debt I owe to the members of my own staff, past
and present, and to my fellow officers. I would record my
indebtedness to the many Health Committees who have been so
patient with my endeavours to advise as their Medical Officer of
Health, and I would wish for nothing more than that my successor
shall be treated as kindly.
I am.
Your obedient Servant.
K. E. TAPPER.
May, 1954. Medical Officer of Health.