Eleventh report from the Select Committee on Estimates : together with the minutes of evidence taken before sub-committee E and appendices, session 1950-1951: regional hospital boards and hospital management committees.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Estimates
- Date:
- [1951]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Eleventh report from the Select Committee on Estimates : together with the minutes of evidence taken before sub-committee E and appendices, session 1950-1951: regional hospital boards and hospital management committees. Source: Wellcome Collection.
111/348 page 71
![15 February, 1951.] Mr. J. Enoch Powell. 828. You think there should be a closer control over the management committees by the regional board—in general terms?— Yes, but I mUi8t be very careful about this. The policy of the Board and myself is to give management committees the utmost possible freedom. I am always afraid of controlling a body of men who give their services and who want to regard their ser- vices as being usefully occupied. I claim from the Ministry as much freedom as I can get, and I think it is only right that manage- ment committees should have equal freedom from the regional board. 829. The point I am trying to get at is this: you have suggested one way in which control of a job, of which you would approve, could be exercised—through a review of the establishments?—Yes. 830. Are there other ways in which a similar beneficial control could in your view be exercised by the regional board over the hospital management committees?— You have used the word “ beneficial’. The sort of control you have in mind is to effect a financial saving. That is not necessarily a beneficial control. It is going to be a control which is going to be rather un- pleasant to handle, and it is going to lead to reductions in many ways. I hope the Sub-Committee will realise that any sugges- tion of stopping expenditure will be most serious. To-day there are large wards with vacant beds in them, and there are long waiting lists. We are very short of beds for mental defectives and for mental patients. ‘We are very short of sanatoria. Chairman. 831. I do not think the Sub-Committee in any way wishes to induce you to suggest that to reduce expenditure is desirable. I think all we want to do is to find out from you how you think that, having regard to the financial stringency which is inevitable, the necessary economies can be most effi- ciently carried through?—May I just answer by saying that I would like to see this Ser- vice reduced in cost, but I do not know how you can reduce it having regard to the expenditure which is authorised on salaries, wages and all the other increases. You have got to realise that we burn a lot of fuel; we cannot control the cost of fuel; we can only control-the amount that is consumed. There are rates. There is elec- tricity, heating and all sorts of things which we cannot control. If you get down to the actual things—there are textiles and food which accounts for anything between twenty-five and thirty-five per cent. of our total expenditure—which we can control. To-day there is a substantial difference between one hospital and another in food. It has been the Ministry’s object to try to Continued. improve the Service so far as the prepara- tion of meals and the preparation of special meals are concerned. All that has got to be brought up to a better standard in a good many places. 832. Surely the total expenditure avail- able must be decided by the Government after discussion with the boards and others concerned?—I agree. 833. Once the total is decided by the Government then the next question arises . of how the money should be allocated as between the various parts of :the Service. Is it not possible that that is best done at hospital level rather than at regional level? —I should say “Ne”. My own view would be that, if there is to be a sum of money spent on Sheffield Region, that sum of money had better be handed to the regional board who would make its own distribution amongst the hospital manage- ment committees according to what it con- sidered to be the needs of each management committee. Mr. Turton. 834. Assuming that financial stringency, would it be practicable or desirable for the regional board to make its own appeal in the region for money to be subscribed voluntarily, in addition to any money which came from the Exchequer?—The Instruc- tions of the Minister of Health are that regional boards and management com- mittees must have nothing to do with that. 835. I asked whether it would be prac- ticable or desirable—that is how I put it?— If it comes to the question of issuing volun- tary appeals for money. it is better done in the locality. Therefore it is better done by the management committee of a group of hospitals. There is no point in Sheffield Regional Board issuing an appeal to reach people i in Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Lincoln. Chairman. 836. That is not the responsibility of the Board?—-We are told we must have nothing to do with that. 837. You have, apart from the Govern- ment grant, an income from the old endow- ments?—Yes. 838. Can you say what your income was last year?—£26,000 was the part the regional board had. 839. How much of that did you spend? —(Mr. Everingham.) All except £500 was allocated to the hospital management committees. May I just say how that works? A sum is allocated to each region, that is to say a certain amount of the in- come. Half of that income is sent direct by the Ministry of Health twice a year to](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32182478_0111.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
