North Bedfordshire Health Authority Archive

HO:NB

North Bedfordshire Health Authority Archive

HO:NB/1-42

Bedford Group Hospital Management Committee

HO:NB/1/1 Ambulance Service Liaison Committee Minutes 1968-1972

HO:NB/2/1 Biggleswade Hospital House Committee Minutes 1950-1959

HO:NB/3/1-2 Biggleswade and Park Hospitals Committee Minutes 1959-1972

HO:NB/4/1-4 Bromham Hospital House Committee Minutes 1948-1972

HO:NB/5/1 Bromham Hospital Farm Advisory Sub Committee Minutes 1956-1959

HO:NB/6/1 Budgetary Control Sub-Committee Minutes 1970-1973

HO:NB/7/1 Catering Committee Minutes 1959-1970

HO:NB/8/1 Bedford General Hospital Commissioning Team Minutes 1972-1975

HO:NB/9/1-3 Convalescent Homes House Committee, Minutes 1948-1958

HO:NB/10/1 Co-ordinating Committee for Population screening for cancer of the cervix, Minutes 1967-1971

HO:NB/11/1 Drug and Dressing Committee 1971-1973

HO:NB/12/1-10 Establishment Sub Committee Minutes 1948-1968

HO:NB/13/1-10 Finance and General Purposes Sub Committee Minutes 1948-1968

HO:NB/14/1-4 Administrator's Copies 1959-1961

HO:NB/15/1-3 Finance, Establishment and General Purposes Sub Committee Minutes 1968-1973

HO:NB/16/1-3 Farm and Gardens (later Gardens) Sub Committee Minutes 1951-1967 (gap)

HO:NB/17/1 Administrator's Copy of above 1951-1954

HO:NB/18/1 Geriatric Liaison Committee Minutes 1968-1972

HO:NB/19/1 Geriatric Divisional Sub Committee Minutes 1972-1974

HO:NB/20/1 General Divisional Committee Minutes 1972-1974

HO:NB/21/1-10 Hospital Management Committee Minutes 1948-1974

HO:NB/22/1-5 Administrator's set 1953-1958

HO:NB/23/1-2 Hospital Management Committee Memoranda 1948-1951

HO:NB/24/1-3 Hospital House Committee: Bedford Minutes 1948-1972

HO:NB/25/1 Hospital House Committee: Park Hospital Minutes 1958-1959

HO:NB/26/1 Hospital House Committee: Sanatoria Minutes 1948-1958

HO:NB/27/1 Joint Consultative Staffs Committee 1951-1955

HO:NB/28/1 Bedfordshire Joint Liaison Committee

Administration Working Party Minutes 1972-1973

HO:NB/29/1 Medical Advisory Sub Committee Minutes 1970-1972

HO:NB/30/1 Medical Staff Planning Committee Minutes 1970-1972

HO:NB/31/1 Mental Handicap Liaison Committee Minutes 1972-1973

HO:NB/32/1 National Hospital Service Reserve Special

Sub Committee Minutes 1950-1967

HO:NB/33/1 Nurse Education Committee, Bromham Hospital Minutes 1966-1973

HO:NB/34/1 Nursing Advisory Sub Committee, Minutes 1948-1973

HO:NB/35/1 Nursing Education Sub Committee Minutes 1958-1973

HO:NB/36/1 General Practitioner Obstetrics Committee Minutes 1972-1974

HO:NB/37/1 Occupational Health Committee Minutes 1967-1976

HO:NB/38/1 Psychiatric Divisional Sub Committee Minutes 1972-1974

HO:NB/39/1 Special Sub Committee: Future Use of Hospitals 1948-1950

HO:NB/40/1 Voluntary Liaison Committee 1968-1973

HO:NB/41/1 Works & Supplies Sub Committee 1968-1973

HO:NB/42/1 Miscellaneous 1931-1974

Bedfordshire Area Health Authority: Northern District

HO:NB/43/1 Working Party re short term development of Bedford Hospital, Minutes 1975-1977

HO:NB/44/1-5 District Management Team 1974-1982

HO:NB/45/1-2 District Medical Committee Minutes 1974-1982

HO:NB/46/1 Medical Staff Committee Minutes 1975-1982

HO:NB/47/1 Attendance Book Committee Members Signatures 1974-1982

The archive deposited by the North Bedfordshire Area Health Authority on 23 May 1989 comprises the archives of the two predecessor authorities: the Bedford Group of Hospitals (1948-1974) and the Bedfordshire Area Health Authority, Northern District (1974-1982).

Conspectus of records of Bedford Hospital Management Committee 1948-1974

a) General Committees

Original Committees 1948-

Hospital Management Committee HO:NB/21 1948-1974

Finance Committee HO:NB/13 1948-1968

Establishment Committee HO:NB/12 1948-1968

Nursing Advisory Sub Committee HO:NB/34 1948-1973

Committees added 1978-1968

NHS Reserve Special Sub Committee HO:NB/32 1950-1967

Joint Consultative Staff Committee HO:NB/27 1951-1955

Farm and Gardens Sub Committee HO:NB/16 1951-1967 (gap)

Nursing Education Sub Committee HO:NB/35 1958-1973

Catering Committee HO:NB/7 1959-1970

Occupational Health Committee HO:NB/37 1967-1976

New Committees 1968

Ambulance Service Liaison Committee HO:NB/1 1968-1972

Finance, Establishment and General

Purposes Committee HO:NB/15 1968-1973

Geriatric Liaison Committee HO:NB/18 1968-1972

Voluntary Liaison Committee HO:NB/40 1968-1973

Works & Supplies Sub Committee HO:NB/41 1968-1973

New Committees 1970-1972

Budgetary Control Sub Committee HO:NB/6/1 1970-1973

Medical Advisory Sub Committee HO:NB/29 1970-1972

Medical Staff Planning Committee HO:NB/30 1970-1972

Drug and Dressing Committee HO:NB/11 1971-1973

New Committees 1972

Geriatric Divisional Sub Committee HO:NB/19 1972-1974

General Divisional Committee HO:NB/20 1972-1974

Mental Handicap Liaison Committee HO:NB/31 1972-1973

General Practitioner Obstetrics Committee HO:NB/36 1972-1974

Psychiatric Divisional Sub Committee HO:NB/38 1972-1974

HOUSE COMMITTEES ETC

Bedford

Hospital House Committee, Bedford HO:NB/24 1948-1972

Bedford General Commissioning Team

Minutes HO:NB/8 1972-1975

Biggleswade

Biggleswade Hospital House Committee HO:NB/2 1950-1959

Biggleswade & Park Hospitals Committee HO:NB/3 1959-1972

Bromham

Bromham Hospital House Committee HO:NB/4 1948-1972

Bromham Hospital Farm Advisory

Sub Committee HO:NB/5 1956-1959

Nurse Education Committee

Bromham Hospital 1966-1973

Convalescent Homes

Convalescent Homes House Committee HO:NB/9 1948-1958

Park Hospital

Hospital House Committee: Sanatoria HO:NB/26 1948-1958

Hospital House Committee: Park Hospital HO:NB/25 1958-1959

Biggleswade & Park Hospital Committee HO:NB/3 1959-1972

Special Committees of limited duration

Special Sub Committee: Future Use of Hospitals HO:NB/39 1948-1950

Co-Ordinating Committee for Population

Screening for Cancer of the Cervix HO:NB/10 1967-1971

Bedfordshire Joint Liaison Committee

Administration Working Party NO:NB/28 1972-1973

North Bedfordshire Health Authority Minutes Z625/1/1-6 1982-1987

Other papers

Other sources useful for the study of medical history 1948-1988

North Bedfordshire Division of British Medical Association X764/1 1973-1978

Papers of Eric Stonebanks Z613 1895-1988

English

Acc No 6523

Deposited by A L Dickinson, Administration Manager, on 23 May 1989

The Setting Up of the Bedford Group Hospital Management Committee

The 1948 Health Act caused the hospitals in the northern part of Bedfordshire to be organised as No 1 Group of the North West Metropolitan Region. This Region appointed a Bedford Group Hospital Management Committee under the Chairmanship of Major Simon Whitbread.

The hospitals that comprised the group were as follows:

Bedford County Hospital (now South Wing) (archives previous to 1948 listed under HO:B.) The Eric Stonebank archive (Z613) is very useful, especially on the rebuilding of the 1890's.

Bedford: St Peter's Hospital (former workhouse, now North Wing) (archives previous to 1948 listed under PUB).

Bromham House Colony (for now Bromham Hospital) (archives previous to 1948 listed under J.)

Bedfordshire Sanatorium for Tuberculosis (now Park Hospital) (archives previous to 1948 listed under HO:M).

Daneswood Sanatorium (archives previous to 1948 listed under HO:D).

Isolation Hospital at Clapham.

Isolation Hospital at Steppingley.

Isolation Hospital at Biggleswade (previous archives listed under HO:BW).

Smallpox Hospital at Biggleswade (previous archives listed under HO:BW).

Edgbury Convalescent Home.

Homewood Convalescent Home.

List taken from the definitive history of Bedford Hospitals "Private Charity and the Public Purse, the Development of Bedford General Hospital: 1794-1988".

The Groups records fall into three main categories, those of general committees covering the whole group; house committees, etc covering committees concerned with individual hospitals and special committees for limited duration for a specific purpose.

General Committees 1948 - 1974

The records of the general committees show a structure developing in size and complexity. In 1948 the main Hospital Management Committee was set up. This committee lasted through till reorganisation in 1974 and its minutes provide the main record for the Bedford Group of Hospitals during the period. Under the Hospital Management Committee were set up in 1948 only three subordinate committees: Finance, Establishment and Nursing Advisory.

To this simple committee structure were added throughout the 1950's and 1960's, six more committees including Nursing Education and Catering. The most interesting of these however was the Occupational Health Committee Pioneering work on the occupational health of staff at hospitals was inaugurated by Dr J D Harte at Bedford South Wing. His research notes and fundings have also been deposited at the Bedfordshire Record Office (see Z625/18-23). 1968 saw a major overhaul of the committee structure of the Bedford Group Hospital Management Committee with the amalgamation of two of the most important committees of the 1948 scheme: Finance and Establishment Committees to form the Finance Establishment and General Purposes Committee Special Liaison Committees were set up to co-ordinate ambulance service, geriatric work and voluntary work in hospitals. The creation of a Works and Supplies Sub Committee completed the reforms.

Only two years later three more committees or sub committees were added. Significantly the chief of these was a Budgetary Control Sub Committee, as an answer to Government calls for tighter control of finance. A Medical Advisory Sub Committee and a Medical Staff Planning Committee were both set up in the same year.

1971 saw the creation of only one committee the Drugs and Dressing Committee.

With the prospect of major alterations to the National Health to parallel those of Local Government firmly before them in 1972 the Members of the Bedford Group of Hospitals created five more committees dealing with problems such as geriatrics, psychiatry and General Practitioner Obstetrics.

House Committees

In 1948 House Committees were set up to administer individual hospitals under the overall control of the Group. Records survive for Bedford, Biggleswade and Park Hospitals (the last two amalgamated under the Biggleswade and Park Hospitals Committee in 1959). Bromham Hospital dealing with mentally defective patients has in addition to the House Committee Minutes records of a Farm Advisory Sub Committee (1956-1959) and a Nurse Education Committee (1966-1973). A House Committee for convalescent homes met from 1948-1958.

Special Committees

Special Committees were set up throughout the Group's history to deal with specific issues. These Committees were of limited duration and did not become established as part of the regular committee structure. In 1948 a special committee met to discuss the future use of hospitals in the area. When this was decided in 1950 the committee ceased. Another such committee was a co-ordinating committee for scanning of the population for cancer of the cervix. It met between 1967 and 1971. The Bedfordshire Joint Liaison Committee; Administration Working Party 1972-1973 prepared the way for the changes of 1974.

Bedfordshire Area Health Authority: Northern District 1974-1982

On 1 April 1974, the Bedford Group of Hospitals Management Committee was replaced by the Northern District of the Bedfordshire Area Health Authority. The main unit of administration envisaged in these reforms at a local level was the District Management Team (see B Cashman op. cit. page 184). In this deposit are to be found the District Management Team's Minutes 1974-1982. Other committees represented in the archive are the District Medical Committee and Medical Staff Committee Minutes. A simpler and probably more co-ordinated structure had been created to represent what might appear as the labyrinthine system of the old Bedford Group Hospital Management Committee.

Postscript.

In 1982 it was decided to remove the Area Health Authority (in Bedfordshire coterminous with the post 1974 County Boundaries). The Bedfordshire Area Health Authority: Northern District was replaced by the North Bedfordshire Health Authority. The signed minutes of this authority have not yet been deposited but copies of minutes of the main meetings (1982-1987) and of special interest groups on Community Care and Long Stay patients as well as other printed papers have been deposited by Dr J D Harte.