[Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Clackmannan County Council.
- Clackmannanshire (Scotland). County Council.
- Date:
- 1960
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Clackmannan County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.
65/156 page 26
![In conclusion, therefore I would like to mention one or two matters which I feel will become of increasing importance so far as the health of the community is concerned, in the years that lie ahead and which will demand moro attention from our Legislators and Administrators. One such matter is that of the nation’s food supply. Ahilo it is true that n start has been made in this direction by the passing of the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations recently, providing for closer control of the storage, handling and sale of food it is to be regretted that oven in these Regulations there '’.re certain lacunae, and that they do not go far enough to secure the objective of an adequately safeguarded food supply. Among major deficiencies in the Regulations is the absence of provisions requiring registration of food premises. It is to be hoped this will be made good ere long. Some aspects of food supply however which t he Regulations do not strike :t ”.nd which I suggest will need to bo tackled seriously soon are the increasing ■sc of additives of one kind and another to our food and of poisonous chemicals Air various purposes in horticulture and agriculture, Lhilc recognising that the use of these substances is subject to statutory li its, nevertheless it is questionable if there is as much knowledge of their biological effects as there is of their undoubted economic advantages. .nether matter which roouircs much moro attention is the growing use by Argo sections of the community of the so called tranouillising drugs. The mcontrollcd uso of these could well become a serious health problem and the supply of them warrants close scrutiny and rigorous regulation. Health Education in the widest sense is also a subject to which more attention ught to be given .and which should be expanded in every way possible. I. proper moY.icdgc of the fundamentals for healthy living would inevitably pay handsome A'vidonds and no opportunity of inculcating them should be missed. This subject I regard as being in the forefront of the Health Services and one on which more time and money ought to bw spent. maong other Health matters likely to grow/ in importance and demand moro nd moro attention are Clean Air, Safety in the Home, Prevalence of Coronary -lease, Cancer and the indiscriminate use by large sections of the population -- vitamins, tonics, sedatives and the like and the health problems peculiar to m aging population. These and many others will, no doubt demand more and more the attention of :x Health Officer and in them the Sanitary Inspector will have his part to play. Some times, I confess, I have wondered if the Ratepayers and the LocaL vthorities representing them fully realise the extent and diversity of the duties x.rricd out by the Health Department of which the Sanitary Inspector forms a not unimportant part. ilk-re arc in fact few corners of the Health field with which the Health -fic^r in general and the Sanitary Inspector in particular is not concerned, ■is activities touch the lives and affect the well being of the people directly •u] at many points. Unfortunately results are in the main of a long term character and a.rc. not hedily assessable in terms of pounds, shillings and ponce; but that results of ashing benefit to the community do accrue is indicated in the table of vital batistics on page 26. euch results a.rc achieved without flourish of trumpets but by conscientious, - by v/ork and single mindedness of purpose. They arc achieve often in the acc considerable difficulty and in spite of periods of frustration but the end -’alt is always well worthwhile. In spite of the achievements and the efforts of the past however, one must think regretfully say So much to do, so little done and must continually -n.vc to do more towards securing a sound healthy environment for the people. •us is a. continuing pr >coss the i,nd of which cannot yet be foreseen. It is tuinly a valuable one, to secure which no effort should be spared.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28648341_0067.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
