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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the London Borough of Hounslow
I have the honour to present the sixth Annual
Report on the health of the people living in
the London Borough of Hounslow and on the
health services provided by the Borough
Council as local health authority
Immediately following this preface is a
table showing building projects in various
stages of completion and those planned for
the future During 1970 four projects have been
completed and these include the attractive
Maswell Park health centre and the equally
pleasing long term home for mentally handicapped
children at Heston It is particularly
gratifying to see a start being made on the new
Nantlv House day nursery in Lampton Road
Baroness Serota as Minister of State for
Health Services paid an informal visit on 4th
May 1970 to see a variety of the health
services provided by the Borough Council,
Such visits by those responsible for policy in
relation to the probabie reorganisation of our
health services are of interest to all concerned
and encourage those of us who work locally
to feel that our local interests and services
are the more clearly understood
Last year ihe theme of my preface was the
prevention of ill health in both the individual
and the community as I felt this aspect should
not be lost sight of at a time when ail energies
and a plethora of reports seemed to be concentrating
on bringing about drastic changes
in our health and social services For the
years immediately ahead it would seem that
the greater part of the social services as
currently understood will remain firmly within
the local government remit wnereas the health
services are now clearly to be managed outside
local government but in a form which still
remains to be decided Local government can
however be proud of its fine record of achievement
in the preventive field reaching back
for many decades and indeed in some areas for
well over a century
There is much of interest written in this
report by members of the many different
disciplines that make up the staff of a health
department One of the tasks of a preface is
to highlight certain of these reports but it
remains a dilemma to decide on which to
comment as all aspects of health promotion
and disease prevention if proven worthwhile
are of importance
The general and vital statistics relating
to the Borough are summarised and commented
on later but I would like to state here that
illegitimate births were 32 fewer than last year
and express the hope that this trend will
continue This year the birth rate has dropped
further below the national average but is
still greater than the overall death rate It is
saiutary to realise that there would have been
a natural 3½ per cent increase in the population
or the Borough in the last five years but for
outward migration It is in all our interests to
endeavour voluntarily to equate birth and death
rates in the areas for which we are particularly
responsible if by the summation of our efforts
we are to avoid the unpleasantness of statutory
population control in the not too distant future
To this end we are redoubling our efforts to
expand the family planning service in conjunction
with out colleagues in hospital and general
practice and have set in motion a domiciliary
family planning scheme to help those who for
various reasons find it difficult to attend a
clinic
In the preface of my 1969 report I mentioned
the increasing incidence of venereal disease
particularly in the younger age groups in the
country as a whole The local incidence for a
variety of reasons is not accurately available
but if it mirrors the incidence in London as a
whole it must be taken extremely seriously
Since the inception of the Borough in 1965
there have been several joint consultations
with the Consultant Venereologists concerned
They have available the telephone numbers and
the names of particular health visitors on the
staff of this department with whom thev can
make contact for help at any time
The provision of health centres continues
to be a prime task of local health authorities
and in this field the Borough has been a pioneer
The main purpose of health centres is to provide
attractive and friendly surroundings for patients
and a milieu where doctors health visitors home
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