Report of the Legal Committee on Medical Partnerships.

  • Great Britain. Legal Committee on Medical Partnerships.
Date:
[1948]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Legal Committee on Medical Partnerships. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    3/22 (page 2)
    LEGAL COMMITTEE ON MEDICAL PARTNERSHIPS Report The Rt. Hon. Aneurin Bevan, M.P., © Minister of Health. SIR, We have the honour to submit to you herewith the Report of our proceedings. INTRODUCTION 1. We were appointed on the 20th April, 1948, to consider whether, in the application of the principles set out below to partnerships existing at the appointed day, it is desirable, in order to secure an equitable result as between partners, to amend Sections 35 and 36 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, either by clarification of the provisions thereof or by the extension of the powers thereby conferred or in some other way, and to make recommendations accordingly. The principles above referred to are— | (1) The general prohibition of the sale or purchase of the goodwill or any part of the goodwill of the medical practice of a medical practitioner whose name is on the appointed day or at any time thereafter entered on a list prepared under Section 33 (2) of the Act is to be maintained. : (2) Compensation is to be paid on the lines set out in Section 36 to practitioners whose names are on the appointed day entered on any such ~ list, and, subject to the provisions of Section 37, to such practitioners only. (3) Practice in partnership is to be encouraged, and, except for the purpose of securing an equitable result, there should be as little inter- ference as possible with the continued operation of existing partnerships. (4) Within the general principle of the prohibition of sale and purchase of goodwill, exceptions in relation to sale or purchase in pursuance of a partnership agreement existing at the appointed day are permissible, if they appear necessary to secure the equitable working of these principles in relation to doctors practising in partnership. (5) The possibility of legislation to make some addition to the sum of £66 millions, for which provision is made in Section 36, in order to meet cases which might arise if doctors whose names were entered on a list at - the appointed day were required, in pursuance of a partnership agreement existing at this date, to buy the goodwill of doctors whose names were not so entered, is not excluded if such an addition appears to be necessary - in order to secure an equitable distribution of the £66 millions between doctors whose names are entered on a list at the appointed day. ° » 2. We have in all held fifteen meetings at five of which we received oral evidence.