[Report 1939] / Medical Officer of Health, Birmingham.

  • Birmingham (England). Council.
Date:
1939
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1939] / Medical Officer of Health, Birmingham. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    2/10 (page 2)
    With the outbreak of war all these activities were almost violently intensified, while the immediate action of safeguarding buildings used for the casualty services, of establishing “black-out” arrangements, and of issue at very short notice of the stores reserved for that specific purpose, imposed a considerable strain for the moment on the Department. At the same time, a large-scale clearance of hospital beds, in part to the patients’ own homes, in part to beds in hospitals away from Birmingham, was put into effect rapidly and with success; while the Public Health Department took its minor but nevertheless important share, in connection with mothers and young children, in the evacuation scheme organized by the Chief Education Officer and his department. Some reference to this will be made later. Through all this heavy work, I have been deeply impressed with the wholehearted spontaneity with which every member of the staff of the Department has risen to the occasion, working untiringly and through long hours to meet the demands of the moment—all with a cheerfulness and willingness beyond praise. It is not out of place to record at the same time the generous recog- nition by the Chairman and members of the Public Health Committee of the special calls on my own time, and their kindly agreement with necessary adjustments of my Committee duties to enable me to devote a maximum of attention to the insistent demands of these new and vitally important casualty services. To counterbalance the great increase of work in the various new services mentioned above, there was a comparatively slight redaction of normal activities. The most conspicuous service jettisoned foi the duration of the war was that of housing, in so fai as this was concerned with slum clearance. The staff released thereby were, however, veiy quickl}, absorbed into A.R.P. duties, whole-time or part-time; and not only they, but also a very substantial proportion of the general and special inspectors and of the clerical staff. Of the health visitors, numbers accompanied the women and young children evacuated early in the war, and stayed for varying periods in the reception areas with them. A number of the City midwives and of the medical officers experienced in obstetrics also went out to reception areas to assist in the staffing of the maternity homes which, through the close collaboration of the County and City Medical Officers of Health of the reception areas, were opened, equipped and staffed at short notice for the reception of the expectant mothers transferred from the City. All these officers returned in due course, most of them before