THE LEAGUES OF HOSPITAL FRIENDS

In: Public administration: an international quarterly, Band 38, Heft 3, S. 263-272

Abstract

Before 1948 19% of the hospital beds in GB depended on voluntary action. Under the Nat Health Service the Exchequer meets all ordinary expenditure, including capital expenditure. Leagues of hospital Friends have spread rapidly, esp in the South of England. Their main emphasis is on personal service, such as visiting patients. Over 16,000 members engage in some form of personal service compared with 10,000 members of Boards & Committees of management under the Ministry of Health. The Leagues have become a recognized recruiting ground for the Boards & Committees. They are largely Mc led & operate mostly in Mc areas, offsetting in a small way the public policy of nat uniformity. The Ministry has welcomed their voluntary support from the outset & has increased its encouragement. The Leagues have helped maintain a lively local interest in each hosp's work. They have not much criticized the hospital Service. A League with well-developed visiting arrangements might usefully be invited by the management Committee to submit a report on patients' opinions of the Hosp. IPSA.