Mr. Alan Lee Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the Government are going to publish their consultative document on prevention; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mrs. CastleThe Consultative Document "Prevention and Health—Everybody's Business" is being published today. Members will be able to obtain copies from the Vote Office.
The aim of this booklet is to stimulate discussion on the possible contributions of prevention towards the solution of our health problems. It does not seek to be comprehensive but rather to draw attention to some general principles, to illustrate these by examples and to suggest how the prevention of disease and the promotion of health can be best advanced. It will be followed by further papers dealing more fully with specific issues.
Because of the pressures on resources of money and manpower in the health and other public services the opportunities for new developments in prevention will necessarily be limited in the near future. But the object of this document is not to 515W recommend specific programmes but to start people thinking and talking about the place of prevention in the overall, longer term development of the health and related services. Thus members of National Health Service field authorities including members of community and local health councils need, in considering and planning the use of resources, to keep themselves informed about preventive measures and their potential so that they can ensure that full weight is given to their development. During the present period of economic restraint it is all the more essential that available resources are used to best effect, bearing in mind that not all preventive measures necessarily require additional, or massive resources. Much could be done by more effective deployment of existing staff and facilities; and much will depend on encouraging members of the public to make better use
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CONSULTANT VACANCIES (WHOLE TIME EQUIVALENTS) Specialty Locum present Appointment made* Others† Total (All vacancies) Ophthalmology … 3.5 1.0 9.0 13.5 Neurosurgery … — 1.0 0.1 1.1 Paediatric Surgery … 0.3 — 2.4 2.7 Plastic Surgery … — 1.2 1.0 2.2 Orthopaedics … 8.7 7.8 7.0 23.5 Pathology specialties: General Pathology … — — — — Chemical Pathology … 2.0 6.0 9.4 17.4 Haemotalogy … 1.9 4.6 2.5 9.0 Histopathology … 1.5 5.6 9.5 16.6 Medical Microbiology … 4.7 1.0 9.6 15.3 Neuropathology … — — 4.0 4.0 immunopathology … — — — — Blood transfusion … — 1.0 3.0 4.0 Dermatology … 3.2 3.5 2.7 9.4 Gastroenterology … — — — — * i.e. At census date, consultant appointed but not in post. † This column includes vacancies which were not advertised between 1st October 1974 and 30th September 1975 and cases where the selection procedures (which can be lengthy) were still in progress, as well as posts where the procedures were complete but no appointment was made. It does not therefore represent the total number of posts for which no candidate was available. of the preventive services already available. We as a society are becoming increasingly aware of how much depends on the attitude and actions of the individual about his health. Prevention today is everybody's business.