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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![25 January, 1951.] [Continued. to obtain larger amounts than they can at the moment?—To obtain money locally, using whatever measures are respectable to raise money, and to use it like they use the present free monies, for whatever pur- poses the hospitals think fit. At the present time hospital free monies, which have sur- vived from the take-over, are used by local boards for whatever purposes they think fit and for the type of things which I have mentioned, additional comforts and _ so forth. (Professor Hartfall.) An example of the sort of saving which might arise is this. In Yorkshire the University and the Regional Board are organising a scheme for rheumatism. Funds are coming from the regional board and from the University. ‘The University for two years has been anxious to float an appeal scheme for re- search into rheumatism, and if such a scheme were successful the contribution from the regional board might be diminished considerably. 179. To that extent it would relieve the Exchequer of expenditure?—Of some portion of it. Mr. Thomas Reid. 180. I was surprised at Doctor Hill’s answer when I asked him on what the money was to be spent, and he said “Research.” I should have thought that, if you were going to make a local appeal, it would follow the appeal would be for, say, the addition of a much needed wing to the hospital, something like that, some- thing with an entirely local appeal, as we know several of the hospitals have in- adequate accommodation. Supposing an appeal was made for the addition of a badly needed wing to a hospital, that the money would be forthcoming and that the new hospital wing were built, of course it would mean increased expenditure for the upkeep of that wing. Therefore would Doctor Hill admit that it is only quite right that all these schemes should be submitted for the approval of the Minister because they would commit him to addi- tional expenditure?—(Dr. Rowland dill.) I think the referring of these schemes to the centre for approval would certainly be desirable. At the present time, with the free monies which a hospital possesses, comparatively small matters would not have to be reported centrally, but I am sure that if any hospital at the present time spent any of its free money on some- thing big which in the opinion of its man- agement committee might involve Treasury funds or something of that kicd, they would report to the centre. 181. I was surprised at the figure you gave when you mentioned the sum of £1,000,00. If your figure were correct, with the great many areas in the country very large sums would be subscribed by the public voluntarily and you would reaily then get a very large additional medical service from voluntary funds. It would become a big subsidiary to the Govern- ment Health Scheme. Would that create difficulties in the administration?—I do not think for one minute we would suggest that this should be outside the policy of administrative integration of the Health Service, not at all. The only difference between what we suggest and what operates at present is that free monies can be given at the moment, and are given in quite con- siderable quantities, but they are integrated into the Service. In the same way, if those free monies were obtained by being asked for, they would be integrated into the Service. 182. Would it be easier to integrate what you mentioned just now, the extra aieni- ties, and carry on the administration of those amenities side by side with the ameni- ties provided by the State already?—I am sure it could be managed in a most pro- ductive and harmonious way. Lying behind all this is not only the considera- tion of immediate economy but, we know, having spent our lives in hospitals, that if people locally are encouraged to help their hospitals in this way, even if it is only the widow’s mite, it is not merely the financial help it gives the hospitals but the intimate personal interest that it helps the people locally to take in their hospitals. I am a member of a hospital management com- mittee, and my colleagues are connected with hospital management. I think we can say that our profession would tell you this at the present time: we think there is a danger of a gradual lessening of that intimate concern and interest in their local hospitals which so characterised our people before the war. There is something of a risk that they will feel gradually their hos- pital is detached from them, as is the general post office in their town; its man- agement is no concern of theirs ; and there is plenty of experience of that since the appointed day. It varies from district to district, but there is the diminishing atten- dance at annual meetings of hospitals, at public meetings of hospitals and so forth. We feel, as we say in our memorandum, that anything which can be done to build up and increase local interest in the hos- pital in the sense almost of local pro- prietorship, a share in its ownership any- way, will in the end be in the interests of enonomy. (Professor Cloake.) I would like to show one possible way in which any such fund could be expended with a saving of public funds. We have at the present moment an acute need for a central training school for nurses. The Ministry has declined to have anything to do with it actually. The question is whether the capital for a given year could be utilised in some small measure for](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32182478_0055.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
