A Chronology of State Medicine, Public Health, Welfare and Related ...

espect of premises used by disabled persons. See 1981.
1978 Cont 1
1978 cont Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act (1c.44) consolidated enactments
relating to the rights of employees and the procedures of industrial tribunals. See 1990.
Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act (c.3) controlled the dumping of refuse; and increased
the powers of local authorities in this respect. See 1979.
The Government published a White Paper "A Review of the Mental Health Act 1959",
Cmnd.7320, which sought to establish a balance between treatment and detention; between
the rights of mentally ill people and the protection of the public; and to introduce new
compulsory powers over the treatment of patients in the community. See 1981 and 1983.
The Committee of Enquiry into the Education of Handicapped Children and Young
People (chairwoman, HM Warnock, later Baroness), Cmnd.7212, reviewed, in detail, the
development and functioning of the current services and made several recommendations for
radical changes including the abolition of the statutory categories of handicapped children
and the introduction of the term "children with learning difficulties"; and the greater
integration of such children into ordinary schools after a detailed assessment of their needs.
See 1980.
The Department of Education and Science, the Scottish Education Department and the
Welsh Office published "Meeting Special Educational Needs", a brief guide to the Warnock
Report.
The Committee of Inquiry into Normansfield Hospital, Middlesex, Cmnd.7357, which
was appointed after a strike by the nurses, confirmed that "the standard of nursing care was
extremely low and the quality of life of many of the patients suffered accordingly"; and that
some of this could be attributed to the domineering ideas of a consultant psychiatrist. See
1979.
The Department of Health and Social Security, the Scottish Home and Health
Department and the Welsh Office published a discussion paper "Medical Manpower: The
Next Twenty Years" which posed a number of questions about forecasting future demand for
medical care; increasing the use of non-medical staff; changing specialist training to
introduce more flexibility; and attracting doctors into the specialties and locations where they
are most needed. See 1987.
The Department of Health and Social Security and the Welsh Office published a
consultative document "A Happier Old Age" advocating increased involvement of the
voluntary and informal sectors in the care of elderly people. See 1981.
Sir Frank Marshall, at the request of the Greater London Council, reported on local
government in London. He rejected the ideas of abolishing or expanding the functions of the
Council; and made recommendations to clarify and strengthen its strategic role, and the
executive functions of the London boroughs. See 1985.
The World Health Organization in the Declaration of Alma Ata challenged the
countries of the world to attain "Health for All by the Year 2000"; and to reduce the gross
inequality in the health status of people in developed and developing countries.
The Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of London
formed. See 1984.
The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) first described in the USA.
Two cases of smallpox (one death) occurred in Birmingham from a laboratory source.
See 1980.
The Department of Health and Social Security published "National Health Service. The
First Thirty Years" by B Abel-Smith. The author pointed out that despite the improvements in