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TheSocialist Health Association (SHA, called theSocialist Medical Association before May 1981) is a socialistmedical association based in the United Kingdom, affiliated to theLabour Party as asocialist society.
The Socialist Medical Association was founded in 1930 to campaign from within theLabour Party for aNational Health Service in the United Kingdom and absorbed many of those who had been active in theState Medical Service Association, which collapsed as a result.[1] The inaugural meeting was convened byCharles Wortham Brook, a doctor with links to the Labour Party who was a member of theLondon County Council (LCC) during the period when the LCC developed itsmunicipal hospitals. Brook was the first Secretary of the Association, remaining in office until 1938.[2]
Many of those involved in the Association volunteered for theSpanish Medical Aid Committee in the Spanish Civil War.[3]
Somerville Hastings was founder President of the Socialist Medical Association (SMA) 1930–1951. He served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War, followed by work as an aural surgeon at the Middlesex Hospital. He was a Member of the London County Council for fourteen years.[4]
In 1945 there were nine members of the association in theHouse of Commons. They hoped to influence the plans for the development of the National Health Service (NHS). The Association had held a Health Workers’ Convention atConway Hall,London in 1943, which was attended by health workers and union representatives.[1] A further event, also atConway Hall Ethical Society, took place in 1946, delivering 14 lectures and an exhibition as part of a Health Services Week.[1] There were communications withAneurin Bevan but his relations with the group were not particularly close.[5] The Association was keen to press for doctors to be salaried and work full-time inhealth centres. They wanted teaching hospitals to be integrated into the regional hospital organisations and criticised the segmentation of the service as a barrier to integrated services.[6] The first anniversary of the NHS was celebrated by the Association with a meeting of 300 attendees atConway Hall Ethical Society.[1]
The association was active in campaigns against NHS charges, smoking andtuberculosis, and for adequate nutrition, the establishment of health centres and salariedgeneral practitioners.[7] It is associated with the campaigns against health inequality.[8]
It attempted to build an international movement. In October 1962David Stark Murray went to theUniversity of Chicago to talk to students about the fight for socialised medicine.[9]
It changed its name in May 1981 to the Socialist Health Association to reflect increased interest inpublic health.[10] It is asocialist society affiliated to the Labour Party.
It was active in the campaign against theHealth and Social Care Act 2012.[11]
Alex Scott-Samuel, a public health physician and retired lecturer in public health at theUniversity of Liverpool, was elected Chair in 2017 and held the position until 2020. On behalf of the Association he proposed a resolution at the2017 Labour Party Conference confirming Labour's opposition toConservative policies for the NHS in England and calling for the reinstatement of the NHS "as per the NHS Bill (2016-17)". It was carried unanimously.[12]
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An excellent motion was passed including a robust call for a defence of the NHS in England now and a move to reinstate it 'as per the NHS Bill (2016-17)'.