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To the Mayor Aldermen and Councillors of the London Borough of Hounslow
I have the honour to present the third Annual
Report on the health of the people living in the
London Borough of Hounslow. This report
describes the health services provided by the
borough in 1967 together with the improvements
that are proposed in the ten year programme.
A table shewing the present and future building
projects may be found on pages 91-92 with an
accompanying map inserted at the end of the
report.
I have written long prefaces to my 1965 and
1966 Annual Reports in order to set the scene and
to emphasize the forward health policies which
were adopted and which received the unanimous
support of both the Health Committee and the
full Council.
This year I intend to be brief as a pattern of
provision has emerged and the body of the report
is now as a consequence fully comprehensive and
indexed.
Considerable progress continues to be made in
regard to health centre provision. Following the
completion of Heston Health Centre last year, the
health centres in Feltham and Brentford were
completed during 1967 as forecast in my preface
to the 1966 Annual Report. By arrangement
Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital now carry
out their outpatient ante-natal work for Brentford
residents at Brentford Health Centre. As
orthopaedic and ophthalmic consultants already
work at this centre the National Health Service
can be said to be truly unified in many of its
facets in this building.
At the time of writing I am able to say that the
building of the large comprehensive health and
social services centre at 92 Bath Road, Hounslow,
commenced on schedule in March 1968, and
plans for a model health centre in South
Hounslow are at an advanced stage so that
building should commence early in 1969.
This borough remains largely unique amongst
the London Boroughs and in fact amongst local
health authorities in the country as a whole in its
provision of a fully comprehensive student
health service and an occupational health service
for its staff. These services are developing from
strength to strength and appear to be much
appreciated by those who use them.
The services for family planning and cervical
cytology are functioning well and co-operation
with the family doctors has been successfully
achieved. The observations in regard to family
planning in my preface to the health report for
1965 that 'From so many points of view this is
one of the most vital services for the present and
future health of mankind' still stands, but should
be made with even greater emphasis.
The institution of teaching at the Adult Training
Centre at Acton Lodge, and the interesting new
accommodation being built are matched by the
success of the hostel at Wood Lane and the
progress in the adaptation of the old clinic at
Heston into a day centre for the elderly.
Dr C F Herridge, who has a joint appointment
as consultant psychiatrist to the Borough
Department of Health and to the parent
psychiatric hospital, has written an interesting
report on the success of the joint venture between
the local health authority and hospital in the
provision of continuity of care in community
psychiatry.
Dr Moya C Tyson, educational psychologist to
the special units and special schools, visited
America on a Churchill Fellowship during the
summer, and writes an interesting account of her
experiences which can be found on page 45.
The wide range of services and the large
programme for future expansion and new
provision of these services has naturally thrown a
considerable burden on the staff of all grades
and disciplines in the department. I would like to
take this opportunity to thank all members of
the department of health for their loyal support,
without which no such progress would have been
possible. However, just as we would appear to be
reaching calmer waters following the upheavals
occasioned by the London Government Act of
1963 there looms in front in 1968 the prospect of
major reorganisations of the medical and social
services of the country as a whole.
The most memorable occasion of an eventful
year was the visit of Her Royal Highness, The
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, to open
the new assessment unit for handicapped children
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