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the school medical officer's time is still very fully
occupied. More and more of the departmental
medical officer's time and skill is taken up in making
a diagnosis and assessment as early as possible and
therefore the emphasis on a full developmental
clinical examination is now concentrating on the
infant and pre-school child, in addition to the
continued care of the school child.
To aid this all important early diagnosis of deviations
from normal while they are still in a treatable
stage, a 'risk' register scheme was set up in the area in
1961 based on suggestions in my paper on 'Risk
Registers' published in the Cerebral Palsy Bulletin
(Vol 3 No 5 1961: pages 481-487). I am grateful to
Dr D G Gooding, Principal Medical Officer, for
reorganising the risk/observation register and the
associated child development clinics, and also for
carrying the heavy burden of administration and
clinical work involved in running Heston Hearing
Clinic and the Martindale Medical Advisory Unit.
I am sure all will agree that the appointment of
Dr Moya Tyson as senior psychologist to the special
units and special schools has been of incalculable
value to the handicapped children of this and
adjoining boroughs, and also of considerable aid to
medical officers of health and those doctors, teachers
and therapists who are associated with the care of
these children. Dr Tyson's services as a lecturer have
been in continuous demand, and since her appointment
she has lectured at numerous conferences, at
various colleges, and to several groups of parents etc
on subjects relating to child development, brain injury
and the handicapped generally.
The school psychological service under the guidance
of Mr B Barnett, senior psychologist to the Education
Department has been of considerable help to this
department, and I am most grateful to Mr Barnett
and Dr Tyson for their contributions to this report.
The child guidance psychiatric unit is administered
by the department of health, and a new unit is
envisaged in the proposed comprehensive health
centre at 92 Bath Road. An account of the work of
this unit is included in the body of this report.
Dental Service
The chief dental officer (Mr D H Norman) administers
a local health authority dental service which is
the equal of any in the country. All the health
premises are purpose-built with the exception of one,
and the dental surgeries have the most up-to-date
equipment. Recruitment of staff varies, but generally
remains difficult.
Mr Norman gives an account of both the priority
dental service and the school dental service in the
body of this report.
Mr Norman is to be congratulated on his appointment
as honorary advisor on public health dentistry
to the London Hospital.
Environmental Health
The integration into one department of the varying
services of the departments of the three constituent
authorities has been a considerable task, and I am
indebted to Mr K J Smith, chief public health
inspector and Mr F V Bell, deputy chief public health
inspector, and the senior staff of the division for
accomplishing it so smoothly.
We have been fortunate in having retained through
out the year an almost full complement of public
health inspectors. I would like to thank them for their
sustained efforts in this important field, especially in
view of the considerable amount of new legislation
necessitating many new duties and responsibilities
which occurred at the same time as the exigencies of
reorganisation.
Mr Smith gives a full account later in this report
of progress in the implementation of the clean air
programme, of the requirements of the Offices, Shops
and Railway Premises Act and of the Housing Acts
in relation to houses let in multiple occupation, and
also of a somewhat troublesome year with itinerant
caravan dwellers.
Mental Health
The new mental health division was strengthened
appropriately in order to give a more comprehensive
service to those who were distressed, overtly mentally
ill or subnormal in the community, and to prevent if
possible the necessity for their admission to hospital.
We have been fortunate in recruiting and retaining an
almost full establishment of mental health social
workers and thus have been able to co-operate very
closely with Springfield Hospital, whose catchment
area covers the greater part of the borough. The
appointment of a consultant psychiatrist from this
hospital as community psychiatrist and adviser to this
department will be of considerable help in the future
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