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.
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![22 February, 1951.] [Continued. the record. There is a very distinguished man, an expert in tuberculosis, who is a medical superintendent at Midhurst. He is a great friend of mine, and he has an international reputation. I induced him to allow his name to go forward for nomina- tion to the board, and I pressed it with the unanimous consent of every member of the board. We have, as you know, the largest number of tuberculosis beds in the country. That is one of the great scourges of the country. I have no one on the board of this man’s. calibre, an expert as he is, and it was quite an achievement to get him to say “Yes.” He was turned down by the Minister. We have returned to the charge. We have another opportunity now, and I am devoutly hoping that he will be accepted. Mr. Thomas Reid. 1005. Could you say why he was turned down?—Well, 1006. Was it because he was a doctor, and the Minister wanted laymen on the board?—I think the Minister said he would not have any more doctors. Chairman. 1007. You disagree with that aspect of his policy?—Oh, no. I think we have too many doctors. 1008. I am not quite certain what you are saying. Are you suggesting that he was turned down on the ground that it would be unlikely he would be able to give to the board the service which would be required?—I do not know. I think we are getting involved there, and I think I had better not say anything more about it. 1009. Can we sum it up. in this way? You are not altogether satisfied that you can get the people, who could best do this work, appointed to do it in the present set up. Would that be fair?—Yes. Mr. Diamond. 1010. With regard to the three members you said you would like to have appointed additional to your existing number, is that ‘because of any particular circumstances relating to your region the fact that you have a particular area committee, or is it just related to the size of the region?— It is due to the size of the Region, the large distances in the area, and the fact that we have not enough people to man our sub- committees. 1011. I take it, therefore, you would find that some of your committees and sub- committees are thinly attended from time to time?—Very thinly attended. 1012. Do you keep a record of attend- ances?—Yes. 1013. Would it be possible for us to be supplied with a record of the number of attendances? I am not asking for any names at all, but the possible and actual attendances on your main committees for the past year?—Yes. Wing Commander Geoffrey Cooper. 1014. Do you think your suggestion of increasing your number from twenty-five to thirty would have any real material effect? Is it not the experience of most people that, if you have a big committee, it takes longer to discuss matters and so forth, and that sometimes a small com- mittee is more efficient?—-Yes. Our prob- lem is not so much with the board as with the preparation for the board, which the sub-committees do. Can I make it clear to you in this way? We have an area sub-committee for Surrey, one for West Sussex and Chairman. 1015. You have geographical com- mittees and functional committees, is that right?—-Mr. Braithwaite, would you ex- plain what the survey committees do? (Mr. Braithwaite.) The board set up the area committees very early in its career, because of the size of the region and because it felt there was a need to have members, associated geographically with various parts of the region, serving on the committee and considering matters from that part of the region. It accordingly divided the region into five: one commit- tee in London, with five management com- mittees: one committee for Surrey, with eleven management committees, one com- mittee for West Sussex, with only two ; and another committee dealing with the mental health services. 1016. The last is functional?—That is functional, but that committee also serves as one of the area committees for the mental hospitals although it is not treated geographically. Finally there is the western area committee itself. Mr. J. Enoch Powell. 1017. The figures are not the same as those in Annex J. You said West Sussex had two members?—I was referring to the management committees within that area. 1018. On that point would I be correct in inferring from the annex that certain members of the board have to serve on two or more area committees, including therefore those with which they are not connected? You have eighteen members in London, Surrey and West Sussex alone, and you have twelve members (not in- cluding the co-opted ones) in the Western Area. Eighteen and twelve equal thirty, which is more than your total number of members?—It is not invariably the rule. The division into area committees](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32182478_0124.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
