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38
Harmonious relationships exist between the general practitioners and the
Duly Authorised Officers of our Mental Health Service. All doctors are
kept informed of the duty rota of duly authorised officers to cover times
outside normal office hours.
lastly, personal contact with individual practitioners in the day-today
problems affecting the public health has made possible a better understanding
between the general practitioners and the health department in the
carrying out of their combined duties under the National Health Service Act.
The local practitioners have a greater sense of working with a team of
preventive health workers, and value the services put at their disposal
In general, the arrangements are effective and have resulted in
uniformity of procedure, in exclusion from school and work, and control of
epidemics in the borough,,
In particular, they have resulted in increased medical care for the
'priority groups', a most desirable feature of the National Health Service
Act.
The greatest single step forward for the integration of the Local
Authority and General Practitioner Services, in my opinion, will be through
the establishment of a Health Centre.
General practitioners now realise the true meaning of the preventive
aspect of local authority work, and the unification of preventive and
remedial sides of medicine can best take place under one roof, where
barriers of buildings, space, and outworn traditions, need no longer hinder
the advance of social medicine.
Steps taken to inform
(i) General Practitloners.
(1) By discussion and consultation at Local Medical Committees.
(2) By arranging meetings of general practitioners with health
visitors at which each health visitor wears a small badge
indicating the area of the borough she serves, and especially
seeks to make herself known to the general practitioners in her
area.
(3) By inviting the general practitioners to visit the clinics of
the local authority during a normal working day. (As many as 25
general practitioners attended one of these clinic 'open days'.)
(4) By circularising the general practitioners in agreed methods of
dealing with epidemiological problems
Exclusion from school
Exclusion from work
Immunisation
Care of the aged.
and other problems that arise.
!ii) The Publico
(1) By press announcements.
(2) By health visitor 'education' in the clinic and in the home.
(3) By lectures to women's meetings, church guild meetings.
(4) A Guide to the local health services has been issued, but
needs revision.
(5) By exhibitions organised by the various Council's services,,
3. Joint use of Staff.
(a) Nil by general practitloners.
(b) Consultants of Regional Hospital Board work in -