The Health Services White Paper : The Labour Party's policy
1944-09 1944 1940s 22 pages - 6 - At the same tine, the Labour Party recognises that the general practitioners may need convincing that the new joint authorities are more capable of running an efficient service then many of the local authorities have proved to be in the past. If, therefore, a Cen...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
September 1944
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/7458855F-19AD-46F6-8612-C5792CFB4A3B http://hdl.handle.net/10796/B795AE95-01C4-452D-9EC3-CD6A3334C919 |
| Summary: | 1944-09
1944
1940s
22 pages
- 6 - At the same tine, the Labour Party recognises that the general practitioners may need convincing that the new joint authorities are more capable of running an efficient service then many of the local authorities have proved to be in the past. If, therefore, a Central Medical Board is set up as a compromise, the Labour Party regards it as important that its local area committees should lower the areas as the new joint authorities. The marriage of the two will then prove much easier in the future. Let us turn now to the voluntary hospitals. If the new service is to become a reality, the bulk of the voluntary hospitals must be inside it. Furthermore, if the service becomes a reality, the voluntary hospitals will not be able to afford to stay outside. The possibilities are, therefore, the expropriation of the voluntary hospitals, subsidy with some measure of public control, or subsidy without control. The voluntary hospitals would, like the doctors, prefer to retain full control in their own hands; they therefore propose direct treasury grants; and their own full representation on the joint authorities, together with national and local hospital councils controlling planning. These suggestions would make an end of all hopes of a planned health service. Small inefficient hospitals which should be shut up, in the public interest, would continue with State help (Of the 900 voluntary hospitals in England and Wales, over 500 have less than 100 beds, and over 250 less than 30 beds). And voluntary hospitals would enlarge according to their own ideas of their importance, rather than the public interest. The White Paper proposals are for subsidy with control. In the area hospital plans, joint authorities are to invite the voluntary hospitals to play their specified part. In so far as they come into the service, they are to receive a payment from the joint authorities for work done, plus a direct exchequer grant. These two together will not cover the full cost; the balance must be met by voluntary contributions if the voluntary hospitals are to retain their claim to voluntary management. In return, the voluntary hospitals will be required to pay their doctors, nurses, and domestic staff at nationally agreed rates. They will have to keep their accounts in a uniform manner. And they will have to be open to medical and other inspection, along with other public hospitals by inspectors appointed by the Minister. The Labour Party considers the White Paper proposals for the voluntary hospitals generous in the extreme. It is ready to accept them as a working compromise, provided they are not weakened in any way. Finally, there is the question of the clinics, which have now become such an important feature of our health services. These have been built up under the existing local authorities. The service provided has been criticised on the following grounds: (a) It is of varying quality, as a result of the varying energy and wealth of the authorities. (b) It is incomplete in design. Thus there may be a gap between the infant welfare service and the school medical service.
292/847/3/166 |
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |