The Government has announced that those areas of the country with poorly performing hospitals will be given substantial extra resources to bring their services up to standard. The Government recognises that poor performance is in many instances due to old and inadequate buildings and cannot be blamed upon the present staff/management. Bristol is to be allocated one billion pounds so that its 3 main hospitals can be restructured and rebuilt.
What a hope! In fact, the Government intends to reward high performing hospitals by allowing the development of Foundation Status. These hospitals will be allowed to raise funds on the open market and to set their own salary levels. They will be in a good position to attract resources thus re-establishing the competition between hospitals which many had thought was being discouraged. At the same time, non-Foundation Hospitals are likely to be disadvantaged. Whatever the situation the development of Foundation Hospitals is unlikely to be good news for Bristol.
In this issue we publish an account of the development of hospitals and other medical institutions in Bristol over the last 300 years. Competition and antagonism between the various institutions has existed from the outset. It does not appear to have done Bristol much good. The lesson appears to be that Bristol medicine will only prosper if we can collaborate.
We publish Paul Mains presidential address with particular pleasure. He and his colleagues have worked tirelessly in one of the most deprived areas of Bristol for many years. Whatever you skip in the December issue dont miss Paul! Middle-class attitudes may be shaken!
We continue our monthly choice of cuttings from the Evening Post and other newspapers. The particular value of this section is that it contains a summary of what our patients are reading. Even a cursory glance will show that it is hardly surprising that many people are confused about what is going on!
We are glad to have Maggie Somersets lucid account of her experiences and initiatives in Kazakhstan. We end with accounts of the work of two Bristol charities.
This is our third monthly issue. The January issue will concentrate on undergraduate education. Further news of possible Bristol hospital developments will be included. We plan to alter the structure of the site to make it more user-friendly. Please let us have your comments positive or negative! Improvements in the website will only occur if we receive feedback.
Have a happy Christmas!
RLH (Ed)