| Description | Rehabilitation/Management/Rehabilitation Centre Committee minutes 1948-1986, Matron's Reports 1958-1961, Medico-Social Workers' Reports 1958-1961, Statistical Reports 1958-1961, Secretarys Reports 1958-1961, Doctors' Reports 1959-1965, Annual Reports 1952-1963, Other |
| Administrative History | The Miners' Rehabilitation Centre at Berry Hill in Mansfield was established by the Midland Colliery Owners' Mutual Indemnity Company with the assistance of the Bolsover Colliery Company and Butterley Colliery Company. It was opened in 1939 and overseen by EA Nicoll, its first Surgeon-in-Charge, and managed by a committee consisting of representatives from the colliery companies and from mining unions in the Midlands. Berry Hill was taken over by the Miners' Welfare Commission in 1943 and transferred, like other rehabilitation centres across the UK, to the National Health Service (NHS) in 1951. The Miners' Welfare Commission and its successor, the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO), continued to be involved in activities at Berry Hill, participating in its Hospital Management Committee.
Under the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973, which commenced on 1 April 1974, Regional Hospital Boards, Hospital Management Committees and Boards of Governors ceased to exist and were replaced by Regional and Health Authorities. The basic operational unit of the reorganised service became the health district, defined as a population served by community health services supported by the specialist services of a district general hospital. The representation of the interests of the coal mining industry in the miners' rehabilitation centres under the reorganised NHS was the subject of discussions between the organisation and the Department of Health and Social Security in 1973-1974. It was agreed that the coal mining industry would be represented on the relevant Community Health Councils (CHC) through the appointment to these Councils of members nominated by participating organisations. The DHSS notified the appropriate Regional Health Authorities (RHA) in England that the Secretary of State considered it highly desirable that there should continue to be close links with the coal mining industry and the management of the miners' rehabilitation centres. RHAs asked each AHA containing a miners' rehabilitation centre to establish a committee, comprised of representatives of the AHA, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Coal Board (NCB) to manage the centres. |