AGY-4574 | Committee on Hospitalisation and Treatment of Civilian War Casualties

Full description

The Committee on Hospitalisation and Treatment of Civilian War Casualties was established at the instigation of the Premier and held its first meeting on 16 January 1942.(1) The Committee comprised the Director General of Public Health, the Under Secretary of Health, the Government Architect, and an officer from the Treasury.

The Committee on Hospitalisation and Treatment of Civilian War Casualties’ function was to inquire into and report to the Minister for Health on the requisite action necessary to provide accommodation for, and treatment of casualties arising out of any incident associated with the Second World War. This included equipping, preparing, and evacuating hospitals.(2)

The Committee investigated a wide range of issues including the use of Catholic institutions to be used as emergency auxiliary hospitals. The Committee also decided on relaxing wartime regulations on hospitals such as the removal of timber coverings from windows.

The last Minutes of the Committee are dated 19 August 1943 and it is not known if the Committee continued beyond this date.(3)


ENDNOTES
1. Minutes of the Committee on Hospitalisation and Treatment of Civilian War Casualties, 16 January 1942, State Records reference 6/4491.
2. Correspondence from the Chairman of the Committee on Hospitalisation and Treatment of Civilian War Casualties dated 19 January 1942 to the Minister for Health, cited in Minutes of the Committee on Hospitalisation and Treatment of Civilian War Casualties, State Records reference 6/4491.
3. Minutes of the Committee on Hospitalisation and Treatment of Civilian War Casualties, 19 August 1943, State Records reference 6/4491.