[Report 1949] / School Medical Officer of Health, Exeter.

  • Exeter (England). City Council
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1949] / School Medical Officer of Health, Exeter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    29/68 (page 27)
    NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE ACT, 1946— SECTION 21. HEALTH CENTRES I iA biief reference was made in my annual report for 1947 ) to this matter. Nothing was said about Health Centres in the 1948 report because there was nothing further to report. Accord- ing to the Press, as recently as 27tn March, 1950, the Minister ^ is quoted as saying : A programme for the immediate provision j of a large number of health centres could only be launched at the j expense of the housing ])rogramme and of other essential needs I of even greater importance than health centres. That being so, j a substantial programme of health centres is unhappily out of 1 the question at the present time. It was also stated in the same : connection that the Central Health Services Council, the general staH ' of the Health Service, has not yet decided on the lines along which health centres should be developed. I Nevertneless, this matter has been considered locally and it ij has been decided to earmark four sites for the purpose, the sites j chosen being in the North Eastern, South Eastern, Central and '^Western Districts of the City. Moreover, the co-ordinating , Committee of the Council has placed the commencement of the -first Health Centre (the North-Eastern) in the 1952 time-table of the City s building programme. Under present economic conditions, this may appear somewhat optimistic. It may be 1 mentioned that these sites were agreed after consultation with 'the Devon and Exeter Executive Committee. A further con- 1 sulfation through the Local Medical Committee with medical :practitioners practising in the City disclosed that only a minority 'Were interested at the present time in such proposals. It is necessary, however, at this stage to remember that Health Centres as envisaged at the moment consist of two parts. lOne part will have medical, dental and ancillary services for the general public under Part IV of the Act, the other will house the bcal authority clinics, etc., under Part III of the Act. Accom- modation for the latter activities is very urgently required in iRorth Eastern Exeter, hence the Llealth Commdttee very properly '.akes the view that there should be no unnecessary delay in ■Proceeding with their own part of the North Eastern Centre,