VPRS 19273 Medical Superintendent / Chief Medical Officer, Clinical Memoranda and Instructions

Full description

This series comprises memoranda and general medical instructions provided by the Medical Superintendent / Medical Administrator / Director of Medical Services / Chief Medical Officer of the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

From 1881 the senior medical position at the Royal Melbourne Hospital was known as the Medical Superintendent. It was usually a position held by a senior Resident Medical Officer for two or three years. From the mid-1940s, the role became more of an executive position with longer tenure and greater responsibilities including clinical governance and the administration of clinical units. In 1971 the role title was changed to Medical Administrator, then to Director of Medical Services in 1976.

The records detail clinical policies and procedures that served as the official clinical and medical guidelines on activities, issues, or work routines prior to the development of specific formalised policy and procedure manuals. Instructions appear to have been issued on an as-needs basis via a memorandum to staff rather than being consolidated in a publishable manual.