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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![147. Or whether any information is sent out by your Ministry to hospitals to enable them to reduce this factor in appropriate cases ; whether you look at it as something which is such a fundamental part of the cost that you would regard it as within your province to give assistance or advice as to how that factor could be reduced?— Not for the purpose of these estimates. We are really waiting until we have had some experience of the proper costing returns. Chairman. 148. The two bodies referred to are not directly considering the vacant bed factor? —(Mr. Edwards.) No, Sir, they of course are concerned with unit costing. That goes into many more complications—costs in an X-ray department, and so on. 149. Could you say precisely what you mean by “unit” in that context?—Firstly, cost of running the X-ray department in a hospital, etc. 150. It is “unit” in that sense?—Units of service of many different kinds. (Sir William Douglas.) Perhaps I should just interject the general observation at this point that this costing has had to come along rather gradually. The first task we had was to get the hospitals running and to provide a service, and then to get rough controls, and we are gradually advancing into the costing field to see what the possi- bilities of it are, and in that connection you must remember that we took over hospitals at all states. Some hospitals had no accounts at all except the stubs of a cheque book, and therefore to advance straight away from that primitive civilisation to the more complex civilisation of full costings is quite a jump. Chairman.] I think that is appreciated, Sir William. Has any member any detailed question to raise on this Memorandum, just to clarify it? Mr. Diamond. 151. In paragraph 16 it says: “ The num- bers and types of principal officers needed by Boards or Committees have been laid down administratively by the Minister from the outset.” Could I be told of just one or two types and whether this laying down has been laying down the maximum or the minimum number?—That is the type of officer. What we have said is that the Regional Boards should have a treasurer, a senior administrative medical officer, an architect—if they wanted one. In the early days the Boards wanted general guidance as to what sort of services they should set up. They had various views, from two men and a boy to an elaborate organisa- tion with 300 or 400 people, and we had to give general guidance as to the types of officers they would need. 152. It does say, “The. numbers and types of principal officers needed by Boards or Committees have been laid down administratively *?—One chief medical officer, one senior administrative medical officer, one treasurer, two accountants and whatever it might be, varying according to the size of the Region. 153. Does that mean, therefore, that Boards which did not think they required the assistance of a certain type of officer had that answer imposed on them?—No. Chairman. 154. It was a mere recommendation?— A sort of guidance as to the type of officers that we thought they required. 155. And that is not only Boards but also Management Committees, I think you said?—Yes, that is the same thing. Mr. Turton. 156. This is a most valuable Memoran- dum on how the Ministry works, but I am faced with the difficulty of the Esti- mate. All I have is the global figure in B.1, which is the major part of the ex- penditure. Are we to be given by the Ministry some break-up of that in order to give uS a proper appreciation of the problem into which we have to enquire?— (Mr. Edwards.) In the Civil Estimates, 1950-51, the break-up is in the Appendix to the Estimate, which is on pages 40 and 41. That is always published with the Estimates. Mr. Turton.] I think that answers my question. Chairman. 157. I suppose you could let us have the further break-up of that into Regions if we asked for it?—(Sir William Douglas.) 1 think we have already promised to give you something for Regions in the way of a break-up. Chairman.] 1 think what we have asked for would cover it. Mr J. Enoch Powell. 158. On paragraph 21, are the areas in which nursing is administered identical with the Regions?—Yes, Sir. 159. So that is just an awkward differ- ence of terminology? Then I have another point. Is there some reason why the Ministry of Works deals with invalid tri- cycles, which one would have expected the Ministry of Pensions to deal with?—There must be a reason, Sir. Chairman. 160. Gentlemen, I think that probably the next thing the Sub-Committee will wish to do is to make enquiries from the Re- gional Committees and organised bodies](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32182478_0051.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
