The role of the local authority in relation to health legislation.

T underlying philosophy of the Health Act in relation to the three tiers of Government rendering health services in South Africa is to establish flexibility of functions and so to meet local needs and to use local resources to the best advantage. Implicit in this is a co­ ordination of the activities of all three tiers of Govern­ ment, at the same time involving the services of welfare and other organisations. Overlapping and repetition of services should thus be eliminated. This latter feature is of particular importance if energy, time and money is not to be wasted. Let me emphasise again that co-ordination and co­ operation between the three tiers of government winds like a silver thread through the Health Act of 1977. In so far as local authorities are concerned, the Act states quite positively that it shall render services for the promotion of the health of persons within its district and co-ordinate such services with due regard to similar services rendered by the Department of Health or the Provincial Administration. The spelling out in detail o f exactly what personal ser­ vices each tier shall actually render is still the subject of discussion by the Health Advisory Committee. None the less it is in the Act that Provincial A d­ ministrations shall provide facilities for the treatment of the acutely mentally ill and the State, so far, has been caring for the sub-acute and chronically ill. But treatment, per se, is far from the whole handling of the mentally ill, so let us examine the role of the local authority.