Before the National Health Service: Financing theVoluntary Hospitals, 1900–1939

This article draws upon extensive data to illustrate changes in the financing of English provincial, Scottish, and London voluntary hospitals. Traditional sources of funds other than investment earnings declined, although `windfalls’ and major benefactions remained important. Among new sources, central and local government aid was limited. Workplace collections, contributory schemes, and patient payments secured the hospitals’ financial position more firmly than is generally recognized, but they could not resolve longer-term problems. These new sources illustrated the changed character of voluntary hospitals, as their original philanthropic focus upon the sick poor was largely replaced by quasi-insurance arrangements and forms of payment from a wider social clientele.