Shaw, Dr Robert Macdonald (1912-2000)

Papers of Dr Robert Macdonald Shaw, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health (1965-1977).

Reports on a 1955 visit to Scandinavia, and a 1956 visit to a number of hospitals in North America funded by the World Health Organisation, to study developments in hospital planning and design. Two photograph albums and one wallet of loose photographs and postcards of hospitals generated by these visits. One of the photograph albums contains annotated black and white photographs of various landmarks and hospitals in Europe and the second is a similar album of sites and hospitals in various American cities.

Also includes a report on medical and health services in Gibraltar, 1972; and obituary of Dr Shaw from the British Medical Journal,2001, and his entry from Who's Who 2000.

The records have been arranged by section as follows:

A. Reports of Dr Robert Shaw

B. Photographs relating to visits abroad

Robert Macdonald Shaw graduated from the University of Manchester in 1936. After a brief spell in the Royal Army Medical Corps Emergency Commission from 1939-1945, where he reached the rank of lieutenant colonel he became Assistant County Medical Officer of Health for Essex.

In 1948 Shaw joined the Ministry of Health. He played an important role in the creation of Hospital Building Notes, a series of publications setting out best practise standards in the planning and design of hospitals. He was also responsible for surveying the changing needs of hospitals in post war London.

In 1965 Robert Shaw became Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, a post he held until his retirement in 1977.

In 1968 he was awarded the Companion Commander of Bath (CB). He was Honorary Physician to the Queen (1971-1974), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Robert Shaw died unexpectedly at home on 9 November 2000 caused by a dissecting aortic aneurysm..