View report page

10
been most fruitful in starting the cervical smear clinics. The borough has
offered to reciprocate by agreeing to arrange for a 100% mortgage for a house
for any technician in that field that the hospital may be lucky to obtain.
However comprehensive paper plans may be, they will not work unless
personal relationships between medical men in the three branches of the services
are good, and confidence exists that any approach to integration will be
welcomed. The atmosphere here is such that much of the joint approach has
originated from outside the health department. For instance, the psychiatrist
suggested the joint social work department, the geriatrician, the joint employment
of a medical social worker, the G.Ps., the geriatric clinic and the cancer
education campaign; accordingly in Redbridge there is no lack of evidence that
local doctors can, when possible, produce an integrated service.
When possible! Note there is no mention of integration of hospital and
community services for the severely subnormal. This is because the hospital
is in Colchester and the community in London. Without doubt almost all the
difficulties of the tripartite structure would disappear if hospitals were local
and administrative areas coterminous. This is a matter that cannot be arranged
locally, any more than the legal impediments to domiciliary mid-wives working
in maternity hospitals. Central Government continually exhorts us to liaise,
integrate and co-operate; may we respond that we do, and that what is now
required is for Government to make our tasks easier by action that only Government
can do.
Finally, 1 would like to thank all who have made it possible to provide
the first year of service in Health and Welfare for the new London Borough of
Redbridge — Councillors, the large band of voluntary workers, fellow Chief
Officers and my own staff, including Dr. Shaw, my deputy, who has been largely
responsible for organising the contents of this report.
I have the honour to be
Your obedient servant,
I. GORDON,
Medical Officer of Health.