A commission into collaboration in the voluntary hospital sector

The British Hospital Association was acutely aware of the serious financial difficulties facing hospitals. In 1935, the association set up a commission, chaired by Lord Sankey, to review the possibility of greater collaboration within the voluntary hospital sector.

The commission, reporting back in 1937, recommended the creation of 13 regional hospital councils, which would coordinate the work of all hospitals in a given area. This would include setting up a regional fund for when a hospital in deficit could benefit from the surplus generated by another.

The association believed that voluntary hospitals might be threatened by the hospitals that were being developed by local authorities and that they themselves should collaborate.

Despite the report being well received, the BHA did not have the financial resources to implement its recommendations.