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Royal Commission on the National Health Service

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The Royal Commission on the National Health Service was a Royal commission set up by the Wilson government in 1975. It was to consider the "best use and management of the financial and manpower resources of the NHS".

The Royal Commission reported in June 1979, by which time the government had changed. It recommended, among other things, that the administration of the Health Service should be simplified by eliminating, in most cases, a tier of management, a recommendation which appealed to Patrick Jenkin the new Secretary of State for Social Services.[1] Area Health Authorities were abolished in 1982 and replaced by district health authorities under the Health Services Act 1980.

The idea that responsibility for the delivery of health services should be transferred from the Department of Health and Social Security to the Regional Health Authorities was less welcome.[2]

The members of the Royal Commission were:

References

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  1. ^ "NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (MERRISON REPORT)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 18 July 1979. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  2. ^ Sheard, Sally (1 May 2008). "Doctors in Whitehall: medical advisers at the 60th anniversary of the NHS". History and Policy. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
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