British Hospitals Association

The British Hospitals Association was established by Henry Burdett in 1884.[1] Its journal was The Hospital, which later became The Hospital and Health Review.[2]

In 1887 the BHA established a register of trained nurses for those who could show that they had worked for at least a year in a hospital or an infirmary and had been trained in the duties of a nurse. It ran a Nurses Co-operative in the early years of the twentieth century, which employed 500 nurses and had a turnover of £50,000 a year.[3]

Sir Arthur Stanley became chairman in 1924.[4]

Bernard Docker was the chairman in 1941[5] and represented them on the Nurses Salaries Committee chaired by Lord Rushcliffe which published two reports in 1943.[6][7] There were five other British Hospitals Association representatives on the Committee: Muriel M Edwards, S Clayton Fryers of Leeds General Infirmary, Gilbert G Panter, J P Wetenhall, and S P Richardson (who was replaced by L Farrer Brown).

The Association was involved in discussions about the organisation of the future National Health Service, particularly about the regional hospital boards.[8] It supported the objective of a free comprehensive health service, but warned that transfer of ownership of hospitals would lead to autocratic bodies taking the place of locally elected committees.[9]

References

  1. ^ Rivett, Geoffrey. "Biographical notes on Sir Henry Burdett, 1847-1920". NHS History. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  2. ^ "To Our Readers". The Hospital. 1 (1): 1–3. 1886-10-02. ISSN 0267-6478. PMC 5230397. PMID 29824810.
  3. ^ Abel-Smith, Brian (1960). A History of the Nursing Profession. London: Heinemann. p. 59.
  4. ^ "British Hospitals Association". British Medical Journal. 28 June 1924. p. 1137. PMC 2304600.
  5. ^ "British Hospitals Association". British Medical Journal. 2 (4218): 644. 8 November 1941. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4218.664. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  6. ^ First Report Of Nurses Salaries Committee Salaries And Emoluments Of Female Nurses In Hospitals. London: HMSO. 1943.
  7. ^ Second Report of Nurses Salaries Committee Salaries and Emoluments of Male Nurses, Public Health Nurses, District Nurses And State Registered Nurses In Nurseries. HMSO. 1943.
  8. ^ Webster, Charles (1988). The Health Services Since the War. London: HMSO. p. 23. ISBN 978-0116309426.
  9. ^ "Report of meeting with British Hospitals Association on National Health Service Bill, 25 April 1946". Warwick Digital Collections. 15 May 1946. Retrieved 10 November 2022.