Socialist Health Association
The Socialist Medical Association (now the Socialist Health Association) was founded in 1930 to campaign for a National Health Service in the United Kingdom within the Labour Party.
It absorbed many of those who had been active in the State Medical Service Association which collapsed as a result.[1] In 1945 there were 9 members of the Association in the House of Commons, who hoped to influence the plans for the development of the National Health Service. There were communications with Bevan but his relations with the group were not particularly close.[2] The Association was keen to press for doctors to be salaried and work full-time in Health centers. They wanted teaching hospitals to be integrated into the regional hospital organisations and criticised the segmentation of the service as a barrier to integrated services.[3]
The Association was active in campaigns against NHS charges, smoking, tuberculosis and for adequate nutrition, for the establishment of health centres and salaried general practitioners. It changed its name in 1980 as 'Socialist Health Association' to reflect increased interest in public health. It is associated with the campaigns against health inequality[4] around the Black Report. It is a socialist society affiliated to the Labour Party. It changed its name as Socialist Health Association[5] in May 1981 to reflects a shift in its emphasis to the prevention of illness through the promotion of good health.
It was active in the campaign against the Health and Social Care Act 2012[6]
Publications
- The Socialist Doctor 1932-1937
- Medicine Today and Tomorrow 1937-67
- Socialism and Health 1970-
Dr. Charles Brook
Born to a respectable Lincoln family he shocked his family by becoming secretary of the Cambridge University Socialist Society (later the Cambridge Universities Labour Club).
He was a member of the London County Council during the period when the LCC developed its municipal hospitals and later when he was in practice in Eltham he became a Kent County Councillor and leader of the Labour group.
he is credited with convening the meeting which led to the formation of the Association of which he was Hon Secretary until 1938 and he played a prominent part in the campaign to establish the British National Health Service. He was an active member of the Medical Practitioners Union, encouraged it to affiliate to the Trades Union Congress and was in September 1935 the first ever medical delegate to the Congress.
From 1951 to 1953 he played an active part in the foundation of the Royal College of General Practitioners
Obituary of Dr Brook
Other prominent members
Prominent members include or included:
- Debbie Abrahams MP
- Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison;
- Prof John Ashton;
- John Baird MP;
- John Biggs
- Prof George Black;
- Arthur Blenkinsop MP;
- Sir Albert Bore;
- Aleck Bourne
- Richard W. Bourne
- Elizabeth Bunbury;
- Lord Ritchie Calder;
- Sir Iain Chalmers;
- John Charlton;
- Richard Clitheroe MP;
- Professor Archie Cochrane
- Prof Joe Collier;
- Dr L. Comyns MP;
- Tam Dalyell MP;
- Terry Davies MP
- Lawson Dodd;
- Sir Richard Doll
- Dr John Dunwoody MP;
- Professor Eric Easson, CBE, PRCR.
- Michael English
- Dr Hugh Faulkner;
- Dr Ida Fisher;
- Professor Charles Fletcher
- Michael Foot MP;
- Dr Robert Forgan MP;
- Dr Hugh Gainsborough;
- Dr Katy Gardner;
- Mrs Mair Garside;
- Dr Brian Gibbons AM;
- Dr Ian Gilliland;
- Dr Sydney Gottlieb;
- Dr Neil Goulbourne
- Will Griffiths MP;
- Dr Leslie Haden-Guest MP;
- Dr Julian Tudor Hart;
- Somerville HastingsMP;
- Dianne Hayter;
- Joan Higgins
- Dr Leslie Hilliard;
- Sir Benedict Hoskyns;
- Lord Philip Hunt;
- Dr Francis Jarman;
- George Jeger MP;
- Dr Santo Jeger MP;
- Dr Tony Jewell;
- Melanie Johnson MP;
- Dr Horace Joules;
- Dorothy Keeling;
- Dr Richard Kenchington;
- Dr David Kerr MP;
- Sir Dick Knowles;
- Dr Joyce Leeson;
- Dr Henry H MacWilliam;
- Professor John Marrack;
- Frederick Messer MP;
- Dr Maurice Miller MP;
- Dr H. B. Morgan MP
- Dr Hector Munro;
- David Stark Murray;
- Dr Doug Naysmith MP;
- Stanley Newens MEP;
- Dr David Owen MP;
- Miss Sylvia Pankhurst
- Professor Ralston Paterson, CBE, PFR.
- Dr Hugh Price;
- Nicolas Rea, 3rd Baron Rea
- Dr Geoffrey Richman;
- Miss Esther Rickards;
- Dame Jane Roberts
- Dr V. H. Rutherford MP;
- Dr Onkar Sahota
- Dr Alfred Salter MP;
- Prof Wendy Savage;
- Dr. R.S.Saxton;
- Dr Sam Segal MP;
- Prof Aubrey Sheiham
- Dr G.B.Shirlaw;
- Thora Silverthorne;
- Dr Kenneth Sinclair-Loutit;
- Dr Richard Stone;
- Dr Barnett Stross MP;
- Dr Edith Summerskill MP;
- Dr Shirley Summerskill MP;
- Dr Cyril Taylor;
- Dr Stephen JL Taylor MP;
- Dr Oscar Tobin;
- Fiona Twycross
- Dr Alfred Welply
- Anne Weyman;
- Professor Richard G. Wilkinson;
See "Why a National Health Service", D Stark Murray. Pemberton Books 1971
References
- ↑ The Socialist Medical Association and the Foundation of the NHS
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