The labour movement and the hospital crisis
1922 1922 1920s 21 pages principle that the community is responsible for the health and well-being not only of the community as a whole, but of each of its individual members, has long been established, and the application of this principle is constantly being widened. It is exemplified in all the d...
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| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
| Language: | English English |
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London ; published by the Trades Union Congress and the Labour Party
[1922]
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/8FE8F094-BE9A-413C-A167-C87E21069664 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/AFD0BD5F-EB2F-48A7-AC78-4CDCAEC229FF |
| Summary: | 1922
1922
1920s
21 pages
principle that the community is responsible for the health and well-being not only of the community as a whole, but of each of its individual members, has long been established, and the application of this principle is constantly being widened. It is exemplified in all the different health services already controlled and administered by the State and municipalities. Consequently, there would be nothing of a revolutionary character in public funds being granted to provide increased hospital accommodation or to support and maintain the existing voluntary hospitals. The principle is admitted in the Dawson Report, in the Cave Report, and in Dr. Addison's "Omnibus" Bill, but in none of these is it sufficiently recognised that the receipt of public funds must carry with it the right of the public to be represented on the governing bodies. The principle of the use of public funds has been actually put into practice at Barry and Widnes, at Willesden, and, more recently, at Bradford, where general hospitals have been established which are controlled, supported, and administered by the local health authorities. Indeed, the very fact that public authorities have become responsible for so many health services makes it imperative that they should have beds controlled by themselves at their command. The lack of these is rendering the school service, the maternity and child welfare service, the tuberculosis service, and the venereal disease service less efficient than they might otherwise be : the possession of beds, on the other hand, has rendered the infectious disease service in every way useful and beneficial to the community. The rational transition, therefore, from the present system of Voluntary Hospitals to an organised public hospital service is for the public authorities to acquire the necessary hospital accommodation for the use of the existing health services, and upon this foundation gradually to build up a complete service for all purposes and for all classes. And the first step towards this is undoubtedly the acquisition of the Poor Law infirmaries. There are in all 92,000 beds in these infirmaries, and it is reckoned that on an average 30,000 of these are empty in the summer months and 20,000 in the winter months.* The promised legislation for the acquisition of the Poor Law infirmaries by the local health authorities should be pushed forward so that these empty beds may be utilised. Many of the older buildings will require a good deal of remodelling to bring them up to the standard of a well-appointed General Hospital, but the cost will be small compared with new construction. In this way nearly one-third of the necessary additional accommodation can be provided. The general scheme for the internal working of the present large general hospitals, with their special departments and organised co-operation between department and department, is highly efficient, and should be the model on which all public hospitals should be worked. There should be a whole-time staff of resident medical officers, composed of junior men responsible to the visiting staff. Probably it will be best in the first instance, at any rate, that the visiting staff should be part-time officers, paid in proportion to the time devoted to their public duties. At Bradford the suggestion is that members of the senior staff shall be expected to give an eight-hour week at a salary of £500 a year; whilst juniors shall give a six-hour week at a salary of £300 ayear.** * Voluntary Hospitals Committee : Final Report (Cmd. 1335), p. 15. ** Medical World, December 24, 1920. 17
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |