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Public Health Department,
Elmfield House,
High Street,
Teddington.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of Twickenham.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my current Annual Report on the health and
sanitary conditions of the Borough. The report contains as a supplement the
statistical tables for the year 1950 as required by the Ministry of Health. I
apologise that owing to the pressure of day-to-day affairs the publication has
been delayed.
The medical officer of health is required by law "to inform himself as far
as practicable respecting all matters affecting or likely to affect the public
health in the district and be prepared to advise the local authority on any
such matter." Under special statutes such as the Public Health Act, the
National Health Service Act, the Education Act, the Food and Drugs Act, the
Shops Act, the Factories Act, and the Middlesex County Council Act, he is
required to be responsible for the efficient performance of a great many public
health functions, all of which have to do with the safeguarding of the public
health of the people in his district.
By virtue of my dual role of Medical Officer of Health for the Borough and
Area Medical Officer for the County it has been possible, after some initial
difficulties, to weld together the staff on the Borough side with those on the
County side into one unified team working smoothly and efficiently. It has for
long been an accepted practice for local authorities to appoint to the staff of
the medical officer of health, assistants with varying degrees of skill in the many
techniques which form the work in a health department. Such assistants may
be doctors, nurses, inspectors, administrators, clerical workers, psychologists,
social workers, domestic workers, physiotherapists, speech therapists, and
others. All these can be regarded in some capacity as medical auxiliaries helping
the medical officer of health to discharge his many responsibilities. Each
person is required to possess a certain standard of education and competence
for the proper performance of his allotted duty; and although these duties
vary very much in importance, each in his own way contributes his quota to
the promotion of good health, the social welfare and the alleviation of suffering
among the population. The staff are a team of workers with a high ideal. The
efficiency of this team depends on careful selection of the members, suitable
education and training for each post, a sense in each one of performing a useful
public service, a loyalty to the team as a whole, and happiness in the work.
One of their main functions is to provide the auxiliary eyes and ears to assist
the medical officer to keep himself informed of the state of the public health in
his district, and to inform him when conditions need attention or modification.
The medical officer must keep them united to form an efficient, co-operative
group of workers; indeed, much of the success of his department depends
on his ability to do this well.
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