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.
54/348 page 14
![14 25 January, 1951.] [Continued. of any unofficial organisation for appeals locally, to avoid what he called “ misunder- standing ”’. 172. Could I press this a little further? Is it your idea that the hospital authorities should appeal for funds for a special object which is not provided for by the Govern- ment—the extension of a hospital or some- thing else—and that you would get money for that special object, or simply the pro- vision of a general fund?—No, the first which you mentioned. No one would suggest that the State funds should be saved by voluntary contributions going towards maintenance, but there are research projects and at present a difficult position exists in that if any research project is likely to cost any appreciable amount of money at all it has to be put before the Minister in order that the funds may be supplied. We know how often medicine research in the first place has been carried on in an atmosphere of martyrdom, such as_ the original researches of Ronald Ross into malaria or those of Lister into antiseptic surgery which were carried on in an atmosphere of official odium. The point is this: we feel that what one might call the growing edge of research will be helped if money can be obtained voluntarily for that purpose. In that way research could continue when perhaps the expenditure of public funds upon certain experimental research could never be justified. Miss Ward. 173. Do you want to attach the research to individual hospitals, which is apparently the basis of this proposal?—After all the Cancer Campaign still goes on for research, does it not?—-One would go as far as that. 174. Would not the same object be attained from a research point of view if you did it on a voluntary national scale in that way, or must it be attached to individual hospital appeals?—I think my colleagues would probably agree with me that the greatest and most vital research of all is not attached even to hospitals; it 1s attached to individuals. Take a man like Sir Almroth Wright at St. Mary’s Hospital who has done so much work in bacterio- logical immunity against disease. — Funds were invested in him, and it was his genius alone that produced that research. Great research comes from men of genius, from a Lister or a Ross, and what we would like to see still operate in this country is this, that with regard to some great man (like Sir Almroth Wright) of the future in some hospital centre it should be possible for voluntary funds to be appealed for, funds from quite outside the official Service, in order to support his researches. Miss Ward.] I think that is quite a different point, and different from the one raised in the memorandum. Chairman. 175. Could you say this? Is there any evidence that work of the kind you men- tion, research work in particular, is being starved of finance because of competing de- mands or other reasons under the present policy?—In general I should say that that is my impression, that it would be very difficult to-day to embark upon some un- usual and enterprising piece of research. So often in the past that has been made possible by public appeals being made to support it. Mr. Diamond. 176. Could I just get back to this sug- gestion in the memorandum with regard to holding appeals locally to assist local hospital management committees? 1 am referring to page one of the memorandum. Could I ask Doctor Hill whether he has any particular points in mind whereby the raising of funds in this way would assist in the economic running of the local hospital concerned, because I gather from a previous reply it is not suggested for cne second that the raising of this fund should go towards reducing the cost provided by the State of running the hospital, but that it should be in addition to that fund? Could we look at the other side, the ex- penditure side? Could Doctor Hill tell me whether he has in mind any detailed points whereby the raising of this fund from local flag days and so on would assist in the economic running of the local hospital?—It would I feel assist in this way. If State funds were kept as strictly as possible to the costs of maintenance, including the cost of essential medical and surgical treatment, that I think would be the spirit of the Act; then, depending upon the amount of money which could be raised locally, as many as possible of the patients’ comforts and all the other hundred and one little things that are necessary in the running ofa hospital, which are not strictly maintenance but which at present of course have to be met out of State funds, or a large measure of them—it would vary from district to district—could be met out ef voluntary funds and the State funds confined to strict maintenance, the essential maintenance. 177. These outside funds would go to provide additional amenities within that local hospital?—Additional amenities. I did not mean that they were purely for research purposes, that would only be one of the purposes. Chairman. 178. Are you really suggesting that they should be used for any other purposes than those for which they can now be used? I think the only suggestion you are making is that the hospital should be free to appeal](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32182478_0054.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
