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HEALTH DEPARTMENT,
ELMFIELD HOUSE,
HIGH STREET,
TEDDINGTON,
MIDDLESEX.
June, 1969.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report for 1968.
As indicated in my previous Annual Report, a number of ventures and projects
were initiated during 1968.
The concept of a comprehensive community mental health service is still in its early
formative stages as far as this borough is concerned. National Health Service structure
is awkward in that the River Thames is the boundary between the North and South
West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Boards. There is no district hospital as defined
by current thinking within the borough boundaries. As the basis of evolution is the
modification of structure according to changing function, the essential emphasis must
be on function. Therefore the function of a service is of prime concern. The establishment
in a modest way of the Harle House Junior Training Centre for subnormal
children at Feltham, and a day centre for the mentally ill at the Hostel, Rosslyn Road,
East Twickenham, are units from which future community services will grow.
The home help is a very practical health worker; her social advice can be direct and
to the point. As a key member of the community health team her training has been
non-existent. Therefore you resolved that a certificated, graduated training scheme
should be started in November 1968.
The "confetti syndrome" in the health field is upon us in that reports from Royal
Commissions and inter-departmental committees in blue, working groups in green, and
advisory committees in white, have landed on desks and committee tables all over the
country. The most significant has been the Health Services and Public Health Act
1968 and its phased implementation commenced in the year of its enactment. As
financial resources allow, further clauses will allow certain present services to be refurbished,
and new linkages to be created.
I would direct your attention to the conclusions derived from the survey among
the under fives conducted by the Medical Commission on Accident Prevention. These
several points on page 22 are pertinent to your deliberations in the amenity and housing
fields. The creation of our own orthoptic clinic has been an important advance in aid
to the young child with sight difficulties.
The year has been a sad one for staff changes. Dr. J. K. Craig, after a distinguished
career in the overseas medical service, came to Richmond in the early developmental
stages of the health department. His contribution and advice in the post of Deputy
Medical Officer of Health from 1965 to 1968 was invaluable and worthwhile.
Miss Olwyn Williams, Non-Medical Supervisor of Midwives and Home Nursing
Superintendent, beloved by patients and staff alike for personal reasons, obtained a
similar post with the London Borough of Merton.
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