Socialist Health Association
Encyclopedia
The Socialist Medical Association (now the Socialist Health Association) was founded in 1930, in order to campaign for a National Health Service
in the United Kingdom
. It took in many of those who had been active in the State Medical Service Association. The Association was active in campaigns against NHS charges, smoking, tuberculosis
and for adequate nutrition, for the establishment of health centres and salaried general practitioner
s. It changed its name in 1980 to the Socialist Health Association to reflect increased interest in public health
. It is associated with the campaigns against health inequality around the Black Report, and is a socialist society affiliated to the Labour Party
.
Medicine Today and Tomorrow 1937-
Socialism and Health 1970-
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
See "Why a National Health Service", D Stark Murray. Pemberton Books 1971
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It took in many of those who had been active in the State Medical Service Association. The Association was active in campaigns against NHS charges, smoking, tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and for adequate nutrition, for the establishment of health centres and salaried general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
s. It changed its name in 1980 to the Socialist Health Association to reflect increased interest in public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
. It is associated with the campaigns against health inequality around the Black Report, and is a socialist society affiliated to the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Publications
The Socialist Doctor 1932-1937Medicine Today and Tomorrow 1937-
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
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London 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
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
. He was an active member of the Medical Practitioners Union, encouraged it to affiliate to the Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
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
Royal College of General Practitioners
The Royal College of General Practitioners is the professional body for general practitioners in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including licensing, education, training, research and clinical standards. It is the largest of the medical royal colleges, with...
Other prominent members
Prominent members include or included:- Debbie AbrahamsDebbie AbrahamsDeborah Angela Elspeth Abrahams is a British politician, who has been the Labour Member of Parliament for the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency since a by-election in January 2011. Her previous career was as a public health consultant.-Early and professional life:Abrahams was born in...
MP - Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount AddisonChristopher Addison, 1st Viscount AddisonSir Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison KG, PC was a British medical doctor and politician. By turns a liberal and a socialist, he served as Minister of Munitions during the first World War, and was later Minister of Health under David Lloyd George and Leader of the House of Lords under...
; - Prof John Ashton;
- John Baird MP;
- Fred Ballard;
- Iris Beynon (Later Mrs Brook)organiser of The National Union of County Officers (NUCO) Guild of Nurses
- Prof George Black;
- Arthur BlenkinsopArthur BlenkinsopArthur Blenkinsop was a British Labour Party politician.Blenkinsop was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle and the College of Commerce, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and became a chartered secretary....
MP; - Sir Albert Bore;
- Aleck BourneAleck BourneAleck William Bourne was a prominent British gynaecologist and writer, known for his 1938 trial, a landmark case, for performing an illegal abortion on a 14-year-old girl rape victim. He later became an pro-life activist....
- Dr Charles Brook;
- Elizabeth Bunbury;
- Lord Ritchie Calder;
- Sir Iain Chalmers;
- John Charlton;
- Richard Clitheroe MP;
- Prof Joe Collier;
- Dr L. Comyns MP;
- Tam DalyellTam DalyellSir Thomas Dalyell Loch, 11th Baronet , known as Tam Dalyell, is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005, first for West Lothian and then for Linlithgow.-Early life:...
MP; - Lawson Dodd;
- Sir Richard DollRichard DollSir William Richard Shaboe Doll CH OBE FRS was a British physiologist who became the foremost epidemiologist of the 20th century, turning the subject into a rigorous science. He was a pioneer in research linking smoking to health problems...
- DrJohn DunwoodyJohn DunwoodyJohn Elliot Orr Dunwoody CBE was a British Labour politician.Dunwoody was educated at St Paul's School, then trained as a doctor at King's College London, and Westminster Hospital Medical School...
MP; - Michael English
- Dr Hugh Faulkner;
- Dr Brian Fisher;
- Dr Ida Fisher;
- Michael FootMichael FootMichael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
MP; - Dr Robert ForganRobert ForganRobert Forgan was a British politician who was a close associate of Oswald Mosley.-Early life and medical career:The Scottish-born Forgan was the son of a Church of Scotland minister...
MP; - Dr Hugh Gainsborough;
- Dr Katy Gardner;
- Mrs Mair Garside;
- Dr Brian GibbonsBrian GibbonsDr Brian Gibbons, AM, FRCGP was the Labour Party Assembly Member for Aberavon from May 1999 to May 2010, when he stood down...
AM; - Dr Ian Gilliland;
- Dr Sydney Gottlieb;
- Will GriffithsWilliam Griffiths (politician)William Griffiths was a British Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament for Moss Side from 1945 until 1950 and for Manchester Exchange from 1950 until his death in 1973....
MP; - Dr Leslie Haden-GuestLeslie Haden-Guest, 1st Baron Haden-GuestLeslie Haden Haden-Guest, 1st Baron Haden-Guest MC was a British author, journalist, doctor and Labour Party politician.-Life and career:...
MP; - Dr Julian Tudor HartJulian Tudor HartJulian Tudor Hart is a British physician.- Biography :He studied medicine at Cambridge University and in London....
; - Somerville HastingsSomerville HastingsSomerville Hastings FRCS MP was a British surgeon and Labour Party politician.The son of the Reverend H G Hastings, he was born in Warminster, Wiltshire. He was educated at Wycliffe College , University College and the Middlesex Hospital, London...
MP; - Dianne Hayter;
- Dr Leslie Hilliard;
- Sir Benedict Hoskyns;
- Lord Philip HuntPhilip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings HeathPhilip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath OBE, PC is a former health administrator and a Labour member of the House of Lords.-Early life and career:...
; - Dr Francis Jarman;
- George JegerGeorge JegerGeorge Jeger was a British Labour Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for Winchester from 1945 to 1950, and for Goole from 1950 until his death in 1971.-References:...
MP; - Dr Santo JegerSanto JegerSanto Wayburn Jeger was a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1945 until his death....
MP; - Dr Tony Jewell;
- Melanie JohnsonMelanie JohnsonMelanie Jane Johnson is a Labour politician in the United Kingdom.-Early life:Johnson attended the Independent Clifton High School in Clifton, Bristol. Leaving Bristol for London, Johnson studied at University College London, gaining a BA in Philosophy and Ancient Greek...
MP; - Dr Horace Joules;
- Dr Richard Kenchington;
- Dr David KerrDavid Kerr (UK politician)David Leigh Kerr was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was an active member of the Socialist Medical Association before he was elected Member of Parliament for Wandsworth Central from 1964 to 1970, when he stood down...
MP; - Sir Dick KnowlesDick KnowlesSir Richard Marchant Knowles , known as Dick Knowles, was a British politician known for his work in local government in Birmingham. He led the Labour Party administration on Birmingham City Council from 1984 to 1993....
; - Dr Joyce Leeson;
- Dr Henry H MacWilliam;
- Professor John MarrackJohn MarrackProfessor John Richardson Marrack, DSO, MC was the Emeritus Professor of Chemical Pathology in the University of London, visiting professor to the University of Texas and known for his book Antigens and Antibodies ....
; - Frederick Messer MP;
- Dr Maurice MillerMaurice MillerMaurice Solomon Miller was a British Labour Party politician.He was educated at Shawlands Academy, Glasgow and Glasgow University. He became a medical practitioner and a councillor on Glasgow Corporation from 1950...
MP; - Dr H.B.Morgan MP
- Dr Hector Munro;
- David Stark MurrayDavid Stark MurrayDr David Stark Murray , son of Robert Murray MP was a consultant pathologist and President of the Socialist Medical Association 1951–70...
; - Dr Doug NaysmithDoug NaysmithJohn Douglas Naysmith is a British Labour Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament for Bristol North West from 1997 until standing down at the 2010 general election....
MP; - Stanley NewensStanley NewensArthur Stanley Newens, known as Stan Newens, is a former British Labour Co-operative politician. He is a former Member of Parliament and Member of the European Parliament ....
MEP; - Miss Sylvia PankhurstSylvia PankhurstEstelle Sylvia Pankhurst was an English campaigner for the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom. She was for a time a prominent left communist who then devoted herself to the cause of anti-fascism.-Early life:...
; - Dr Hugh Price;
- Dr Geoffrey Richman;
- Miss Esther Rickards;
- Dame Jane RobertsDame Jane RobertsDame Jane Elizabeth Roberts, DBE is a British Labour Party politician and doctor and an active member of the Socialist Health Association. She has been a consultant in child and adolescent psychiatry since 1994 and is Medical Director of Islington Primary Care Trust...
- Dr V. H. Rutherford MP;
- Dr Alfred SalterAlfred SalterDr Alfred Salter was a British medical practitioner and Labour Party politician.Southwark Council has offered £1000 reward for anyone who recovers the statue stolen on 18 November. -Early life:...
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 StrossBarnett StrossSir Barnett Stross KBE was a British doctor and politician. He served twenty years as a Labour Party Member of Parliament, famously led the humanitarian campaign "Lidice Shall Live" and pushed for reforms in industry to protect workers-Early life:Barnett Stross was born to a Jewish family,...
MP; - Dr Edith SummerskillEdith SummerskillEdith Clara Summerskill, Baroness Summerskill CH PC was a British physician, feminist, misandrist, Labour politician and writer. She was appointed to the Privy Council in 1949.-Early life:...
MP; - Dr Cyril Taylor;
- Dr Stephen JL TaylorStephen Taylor, Baron TaylorStephen James Lake Taylor, Baron Taylor was a British physician, civil servant, politician and educator....
MP; - Dr Oscar Tobin;
- Dr Alfred Welply
- Anne WeymanAnne WeymanAnne Judith Weyman OBE is a British woman. She was Chief Executive of the Family Planning Association, 1996–2008; and is a Member of the General Medical Council. She was appointed OBE in 2000...
; - Professor Richard Wilkinson;
See "Why a National Health Service", D Stark Murray. Pemberton Books 1971