The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Voluntarism, municipalism and welfare: the geography of hospital utilization in England in the 1930s

Voluntarism, municipalism and welfare: the geography of hospital utilization in England in the 1930s
Voluntarism, municipalism and welfare: the geography of hospital utilization in England in the 1930s
This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the pattern of hospital utilization (rather than provision) in England prior to the establishment of the NHS, showing the extent to which the probability of obtaining hospital treatment was a function of residence. Access to hospital care depended on the vigour of voluntarism and the political priorities of local governments. The pattern of voluntary hospital utilization is shown to have been markedly unequal, but the effect of municipal provision was to reduce disparities in access to services. The paper demonstrates variations in hospital utilization and discusses contemporary assessments of the situation. This work contributes to debates about the efficacy of non-profit forms of welfare delivery; it provides a novel British study to complement American work in this field. It also raises questions about the contemporary vogue for partnerships in health care delivery between the public and private sectors, arguing that such proposals rest on an optimistic view of history.
0020-2754
56-74
Mohan, John
01d0f96b-aee7-4f4d-ad3f-e177231005f6
Mohan, John
01d0f96b-aee7-4f4d-ad3f-e177231005f6

Mohan, John (2003) Voluntarism, municipalism and welfare: the geography of hospital utilization in England in the 1930s. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 28 (1), 56-74. (doi:10.1111/1475-5661.00077).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the pattern of hospital utilization (rather than provision) in England prior to the establishment of the NHS, showing the extent to which the probability of obtaining hospital treatment was a function of residence. Access to hospital care depended on the vigour of voluntarism and the political priorities of local governments. The pattern of voluntary hospital utilization is shown to have been markedly unequal, but the effect of municipal provision was to reduce disparities in access to services. The paper demonstrates variations in hospital utilization and discusses contemporary assessments of the situation. This work contributes to debates about the efficacy of non-profit forms of welfare delivery; it provides a novel British study to complement American work in this field. It also raises questions about the contemporary vogue for partnerships in health care delivery between the public and private sectors, arguing that such proposals rest on an optimistic view of history.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2003

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 34892
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/34892
ISSN: 0020-2754
PURE UUID: 4568990b-a350-47ed-9ab7-ec8bfb26c6d5

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 17 May 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:49

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: John Mohan

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×