The Claire Wand Fund is a
charitable fund administered by the
British Medical Association
The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...
(BMA). The fund offers grants to fund the further education of
medical practitioners predominantly engaged in
general practice
General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...
and for the provision of scholarships (including travelling scholarships) for such practitioners.
History
The fund was set up by Dr Solomon Wand and Dr Derek Stevenson in 1953. They named the fund after Dr Wand's late wife, Claire.
When
general practitioners (GPs) agreed to work within the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
(NHS), in 1948, they did so because of a promise made by Government that the recommendations of the SPENS Committee on GP remuneration would be implemented. This did not happen, so negotiations were carried out with the Government, by the Chairman of the General Medical Services Committee, Dr Solomon Wand, and the Committee's Secretary, Dr Derek Stevenson.
After disagreement with the
Ministry of Health and the
Minister of Health,
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, noted for tenure as Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's government in which he spearheaded the creation of the British National Health ...
, the Government accepted that the issue would be adjudicated by a
High Court judge (
Mr. Justice Danckwerts) who judged decisively in the GPs' favour. The judgement was made in 1952 and has become known as the Danckwerts award.
As recognition of the outstanding services rendered to the medical profession by Dr Wand and Dr Stevenson, a collection was made for their personal benefit. This collection produced a sum of £10,800 which they used to establish a
Trust Fund. This Trust Fund was to have as its purpose the further education of GPs and the provision of scholarships (including travelling scholarships) for such practitioners.
The History Page
on the Claire Wand Fund website.
References
{{reflist
External links
The Claire Wand Fund Website
Claire Wand Fund entry in the Charity Commission database
Medical Charities
o
Londonwide Local Medical Committees (LMC's)
Medical education in the United Kingdom
Educational charities based in the United Kingdom