Department of Community Medicine, St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, London


Department of Community Medicine, St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, London was the foremost centre for public health research in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of its records are held in The National Archives.
It was established in 1968 by Walter W. Holland who subsequently obtained core funding from the UK Department of Health to establish the integral interdisciplinary Social Medicine and Health Services Research Unit. Holland directed the department and unit until 1994.
In the 1980s the medical school merged with Guy's Hospital Medical School and subsequently became part of King’s College London.

Publications

Over a period of 26 years this research unit produced numerous influential reports, articles and books on major contemporary health challenges. Examples include:
Over the span of its existence a large number of people worked in the centre and many went on to hold senior positions in other institutions. These include: