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Staff,Training and other Activities
I referred in my report for 1967 to the greatly
increased demand for all your health and welfare services which
had been experienced since 1965 and this trend has continued.
It seems also to have "been greatly accelerated by the
amalgamation of departments, resulting from greatly increased
ease of reference from one section to another and greater
co-ordination of effort. The growth rate of the field staff
establishment which was incorporated in the Council's three-year
projection for the department has been overtaken by the rate
at which demands for services have risen. Much additional
work including some transferred from other departments, has
been absorbed by improved methods particularly in the
administrative/clerical field, in which savings have been made.
New legislation continues to impose additional responsibilities
and preventive work in all fields has been limited by the
availability of staff time and financial restriction.
None-the-less much progress has been made in all fields as
will be seen from the divisional reports which follow.
The bulk of this report deals with items of service
provided by experienced or trained and qualified members of
staff of many different professions at varying stages of their
careers. A not insignificant proportion of staff resources
is, however, deployed at any one time in achieving professional
or vocational training by secondment to courses at colleges
and universities or by in-service training in the form of
day release, evening, correspondence courses. Particular emphasis
has been placed on training in the skills or management, both
senior operational and administrative/clerical staff participating.
Many members of staff have attended specialised courses of a
post-graduate type to equip them for dealing with particular
specialised aspects of their work. There is thus a gradually
increasing amount of expertise being built up within the department,
and the recurrent stimulus of staff returning from training
courses introducing new ideas and methods is very beneficial.
Staff of the department are also much engaged in the
activities of voluntary and statutory agencies in the Borough
and through the London Boroughs Association in Greater London
generally. Although this is a highly desirable state of affairs
it has the inevitable result of reducing the day by day effective
man and woman power of the department to an extent which has on
occasion resulted in real staff shortage.
Health and Family Services have in the recent past
been the object of much public examination, internal and external
re-organisation. Nov/ that the Social Services Act is on the
statute book and proposals for re-organised Health Services
at an advanced state of consideration, it is to be earnestly
hoped that they will be permitted to enter a period of stability
which will enable them to develop their work with the whole
of their resources, whatever the final administrative organisation
may be. If I may be permitted to forecast the future, I see
social services developing upon much the same lines as have
Local Health Authority services since their inception.
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