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7
preface
HEALTH & WELFARE DEPARTMENT,
Telephone: 17/23, Clements Road,
01-478 3020 ILFORD.
August, 1968.
Mr. Mayor, Ladles and Gentlemen,
I hereby submit the third Annual Report of the Health and Welfare Services
of the London Borough of Redbrldge. Once again, I must thank Dr. Shaw for his
able editorship, and wish him well in his new appointment as Medical Officer of
Health of Watford. His successor, Dr. Fernandes, will assume his duties here in
the middle of September.
This preface will, I hope, be reasonably brief, due to my involvement, with
many others, in studying a number of reports that have appeared recently or will
shortly appear, and all of which are of fundamental importance to the future of
local government services. In chronological order, they are: —
(a) Management of Local Government (Maud)
(b) The Re-organisation of a London Borough (London Boroughs'
Management Service Unit) (L.B.M.S.U.)
(c) National Health Service. The Administrative Structure of the
Medical and Related Services in England and Wales (Government
Green Paper);
beating by one hour in publication., the
(d) Report of the Committee on Local Authority and Allied Personal
Social Services (Seebohm)
(e) Report of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England
and Wales (not yet published).
The great difficulty facing us all is that the first four and certainly the
fifth, when it appears, cover much ground in common, but make conflicting
recommendations. For example, Seebohm differs from the L.B.M.S.U. report and
the spirit of the Maud report by completely separating the community health
and social services. The Green Paper will transfer the community health services,
"the organisation and management of the long-term sick, including
disabled persons elderly mentally disordered- at present the
responsibility of general practitioners, hospital authorities and local health
authorities* to a new area authority for the National Health Services, and perhaps
even the public health inspectors will go with them (page 17. para. 45).
Seebohm, on the contrary, states (page 208. para. 676) "a family service