Health in the United Kingdom dependencies.

  • Great Britain. Central Office of Information. Reference Division
Date:
1960
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Health in the United Kingdom dependencies. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    43/56 (page 29)
    Training is an important part of the work of medical departments and the increasing scope and complexity of medical health services has increased the need for auxiliary personnel of a progressively higher standard in a large variety of branches. These include pharmacists, health inspectors, radio- graphers, laboratory technicians and medical assistants, for whom training has been available for many years. Personnel are also trained for such duties as field work in malaria control, leprosy and tuberculosis follow-up duties and sleeping-sickness work. Many aspects of social medicine (see p. 18) are covered by training almoners and health visitors, almoners’ training being particularly well-developed in Hong Kong and Singapore. In all these categories Kenya had in 1959 a total of 542 students in government training institutions, exclusive of nurses and midwives. In East Africa, West Africa and the Caribbean regional training boards exercise control over the examina- tion of Health Inspectors to standards recommended by the United Kingdom Royal Society of Health. For advanced training full advantage is taken of the facilities for post- graduate study in the United Kingdom. Generous study leave is granted to enable locally born and expatriate officers to gain experience in specialised clinical subjects. Many have been successful in obtaining higher specialised qualifications in clinical subjects and in public health. In the Far East the Colombo Plan (see p. 15) has enabled practical help to be offered by New Zealand and Australia. Thus in 1959 Hong Kong had 26 dental students studying abroad with the assistance of government scholarships—20 in Australia and 6 in Singapore. Through the generosity of the Australian Commonwealth Government it has been possible under the Colombo Plan for the Australasian College of Singapore to conduct a Primary examination for the Fellowship in Singapore. A great deal of useful work has been done throughout the dependencies by Assistant Medical Practitioners, who have received a thorough basic training in local medical centres, although they do not hold a qualification registrable in the United Kingdom. One of the oldest training establishments for this purpose in the dependencies is the Central Medical School in Suva, Fiji. It was opened in 1886 as a medical school for Fiji; in 1928 it was reorganised as a medical training centre for the British Pacific Islands, and now serves the whole of the Western Pacific, including islands under the administration or trusteeship of Australia and New Zealand. The School provides a five-year course for Assistant Medical Practitioners, a three-year course for Assistant Dental Practitioners, and shorter courses in laboratory technique, pharmacy, sanitation and radiography. There are plans for a course in public health. In Uganda a new Medical Assistant Training School and a new School of Hygiene have been opened. In Tanganyika 82 medical assistants were in training in 1957 and a policy has been adopted of concentrating training resources of auxiliary medical personnel at the Princess Margaret Training Centre at Dar es Salaam. In the Aden Protectorate two Health Service Training Centres for sub-professional staff were equipped in 1954, in part by a generous grant from the Nuffield Foundation of the United Kingdom. In the Northern Region of Nigeria the Kano Medical School, opened in 1955, provides a five-year course for Assistant Medical Officers.