The Health Services White Paper : The Labour Party's policy
1944-09 1944 1940s 22 pages - 18 - 5. Special Proposals for Scotland Scotland presents a special problem for two main reasons:- A. Its different central and local government structure. B. 80% of its population is concentrated into an industrial belt comprising only 17% of the total area of the c...
| 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/10796/7E5BD89A-492F-48BB-A84A-0F37ABC7D527 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/556901DF-F23F-4DC5-BB2C-AEFC800C9D66 |
| Summary: | 1944-09
1944
1940s
22 pages
- 18 - 5. Special Proposals for Scotland Scotland presents a special problem for two main reasons:- A. Its different central and local government structure. B. 80% of its population is concentrated into an industrial belt comprising only 17% of the total area of the country. The population distribution, in particular, is said to make the conception of joint area health authorities, as proposed in England and Wales, impractical. The following proposals are therefore put forward:- (a) Hospital and consultant services are to be entrusted to Joint Hospital Boards, of similar constitution to joint health authorities, but covering smaller areas, and with no planning functions outside the hospital and specialist services. (b) There will be five Regional Hospital Advisory Councils, based on Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Inverness, with equal numbers of representatives from the Joint Hospital Boards and the Voluntary Hospitals, with an independent chairman, and possibly some medical representatives. The Councils will be advisory to the Secretary of State. (c) Health Centres will be provided and maintained by the Secretary of State. (d) In place of Local Health Services Councils, there will be Local Medical Services Committees, in each Joint Board area. They will advise the Secretary of State on the development of the general practitioner services, and will provide liaison between the G.P.s and the rest of the health services. They will include representatives of all major local authorities in the area, and representatives of the various health professions, and other interests concerned with health services. The Labour Party can see no good reason why the joint hospital boards should cover areas smaller then those proposed for the five regional advisory councils. Indeed, smaller areas than the regions are unlikely to be able to maintain an efficient planned hospital service. Furthermore, there is no provision for area planning of all the health services as in England and Wales; the Labour Party considers that such area planning is essential, and that responsibility for it should be pieced either on the joint hospital boards or on the Secretary of State. With these provisos, the Labour Party is prepared to accept the proposals for Scotland. There are a number of aspects of a complete health service which, for various reasons, are hardly touched on in the White Paper. Since each of these is of vital importance, the Labour Party offers the following observations:- 6. Industrial Health Service. While there is much to be said for combining an industrial with a full general health service, there are, nevertheless, substantial reasons for linking it instead to the Ministry of Labour. Industry is not organised on a local authority basis; its location is, or should be, determined by economic and social conditions. So it may well be more convenient to deal with industrial health along with other industrial personnel problems, while linking it with the health services generally.
292/847/3/166 |
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |