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7
The 1970 Green Paper contained details of the following three
major decisions of the Government:
(a) The National Health Service will not be administered
by local government but by area health authorities
directly responsible to the Secretary of State and
closely associated with local authorities.
(b) The administrative boundary, which must as a consequence
be drawn between the National Health Service and the
public health and personal social services, which will
continue to be administered by local authorities.
(c) The number and areas of the new health authorities must
match those of the new local authorities - the unitary
areas of the metropolitan districts outside London.
The Secretary of State stated that apart from these three matters
upon which firm decisions had been taken, the Government was not finally
committed to the proposals made in the Green Paper.
The White Paper containing the final proposal of the Government
had not been published by the time of the General Election in June 1970.
The new Government's proposals for the reorganisation of the
National Health Service had not been made known by the end of the year.
Acknowledgments
I am pleased to acknowledge the help and co-operation received
from family doctors, hospital staff, staff of other statutory authorities,
voluntary organisations, my fellow Chief Officers and their staffs and head
teachers.
Once again I should like to pay tribute to my own staff for their
good work, despite concern about impending changes.
I also thank the Health and Welfare and Education Committees and
their respective Chairmen, and the Council as a whole for the support received
during the year.
I am,
Yours faithfully,
JOHN C. BIRCHALL
Medical Officer of Health
and
Principal School Medical Officer