Catalogue description Central Health Services Council and Committees: Minutes, Papers and Correspondence

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Details of MH 133
Reference: MH 133
Title: Central Health Services Council and Committees: Minutes, Papers and Correspondence
Description:

This series contains the minutes, papers, reports and correspondence of the Central Health Services Council and its committees including its standing advisory committees. These files are almost wholly from the 94,000 series of the Ministry of Health, but there are a few 93,000 series files and five files from File Office H of the Ministry's file office series. The files cover all aspects of the operation of the National Health Service. Also contains records of the Joint Committees of the Central and Scottish Health Services Councils.
Date: 1946-1973
Related material:

For further files relating to the Central Health Services Council see:

For records of the Children's Committee, a joint committee of the Personal Social Services Council and Central Health Services Council, see BS 14

MH 150

MH 156

MH 159

MH 160
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: 94,000 file series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Central Health Services Council, 1946-1980
Physical description: 527 file(s)
Access conditions: Subject to 30 year closure
Administrative / biographical background:

The National Health Service Act 1946 established a Central Health Services Council whose duties were "to advise the Minister on such general matters relating to the services provided [under the NHS Act 1946], or any services provided by local health authorities, as the Council think fit and upon any questions referred to them by him relating to those services".

The first schedule of the NHS Act 1946 provided that the numbers of the Central Council should be 41, of whom 6 should be ex-officio, the presidents of the Royal Colleges and the General Medical Council, and the chairmen of the British Medical Association and the Society of Medical Officers of Health; 15 should be medical practitioners of whom 2 should be selected for their knowledge of mental illness and mental conditions; 5 should be persons, not being medical practitioners, with experience in hospital management; 5 should be persons, not being medical practitioners, with experience in local government; 3 should be dental practitioners; 2 should be persons with experience in mental health services; 2 should be registered nurses; 1 should be a certified midwife; and 2 should be registered pharmacists.

Section 2(3) of the NHS Act 1946 empowered the Minister, after consultation with the Council, to constitute standing advisory committees to advise on particular services. Initially, 9 such committees were appointed - Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, Ophthalmic, Nursing, Maternity and Midwifery, Mental Health, Tuberculosis, and Cancer and Radiotherapy.

The Council was abolished in 1980.

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