The National Health Services Commission, 1942-1944--its origins and outcome

An analysis of the origins and outcome of the Gluckman Commission is relevant to the current health service debate in South Africa. Fundamental to the report's recommendations was the establishment of a unitary health service responsible for all health care functions within the Union of South Africa. On this proposal rested the success of the other key recommendations. The sequence of events following the publication of the report demonstrated that piecemeal restructuring, determined primarily by political considerations, failed. Unless policy-makers today are committed to a unitary health system with democratic control, current initiatives to restructure health services will probably remain parochial, contributing little to the improvement of health care for all South Africans.