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The main problems of the first nine months of the new Borough were the welding together
of the vastly differenttypes of services that had been in being prior to the 1st April, and this
involved the setting up of new procedures for nearly every service that is carried out by the
Department, and it was only by frequent meetings of the senior administrative and clerical staff
that we were able to deal with the many problems that arose.
In the Services Division which deals with the administrative work in connection with the
former maternity and child welfare functions, school health services, welfare services, vaccination
and immunisation, loan of sick room equipment, mental health and domestic help services, there
have been problems arising from a shortage of experienced transferred administrative staff,
especially with regard to mental health and welfare services, and there was a continuous turnover
of staff in the first few months. Consequently the process of training staff has been a continuing
duty. With the decentralisation of services to health clinics in Chingford and Walthamstow it was
necessary to dispose some of the clerical staff as clinic clerks to these centres.
In the Management Division which deals with the recruitment of staff, accounts, ordering
of supplies, central registry, typing pool, etc., there have been extreme recruitment difficulties
following trained staff taking up appointments with other authorities. In consequence we had
inexperienced staff learning to do a job. The sheer volume of work resulting from the moving into
new offices, transference of stores,moving together seven separate filing systems, the preparation
of estimates with very little information regarding the services previously administered by the
County Council, viz. training homes, mental health and welfare, and the necessity to supply
hundreds of new forms for use in the various sections of the Department (all of which had to be
reviewed prior to reprinting), resulted in a heavy strain on the staff.
During the year the Council approved the appointment of five supernumeraries to the
Department who commenced duty in September. On their appointment it was hoped that we should
be able to arrange for the supernumeraries to work in all sections of the Department in order that
they would be able to determine which section of the clerical services was most suited to them.
However, it was necessary to assign them to specific duties which they are still carrying out.
The supernumerary scheme is extremely good for recruitment to local government service, but there
must be sufficient staff to carry out routine duties in order that the supernumeraries may be tried
in all sections of the service.
The present office accommodation is overcrowded and awkward and the disposition of the
staff in the offices available to the Department does not allow for ideal sectional supervision.
Neither do premises which may be considered to be temporary lend themselves to the introduction
of built-in audio typing aids, etc.
It will take approximately 18 months for the administrative and clerical services to settle
down in the rhythm of a supportive role to the field workers of the health and welfare services,
and I am of opinion that at the end of that time we shall have to review the administrative and
clerical needs of the Department both in relation to our present commitments and the planned
extensions of the services, as envisaged in the development of local authority health and welfare
services ten year plan.
During the year many of the senior staff unstintingly gave of their free time in order to
ensure the smooth merger of the previous authorities, and I am extremely grateful to them for their
devotion to the needs of the Department.
W.D.Softley
Chief Administrative Assistant
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