ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part explores how these changes were worked through at the Bath Infirmary. Confronting the view that charitable motives alone inspired hospital service. It examines the participation of doctors in the government of the institution and relates their levels of interest to the more worldly economic, socio-cultural and medical rewards on offer. The part considers the extent to which clinical autonomy was limited by the interface with the local medical community and by the interaction between physicians, surgeons and governors within the Infirmary. Although the voluntary hospital has been portrayed as a positive force for professional assimilation, at Bath the roles of physician, surgeon and apothecary hardened rather than softened the historical division of labour. The rise and fall of doctors’ administrative interest in the Bath Hospital reflected the rewards to be reaped from philanthropic service.
