Record series
Agency Files: Multiple Number
VPRS 14845
1955 - 1986
Not set
North Melbourne
Agencies
This record series was created by:
Hospitals and Charities Commission ( VA693 ): 1955 - 1978
Health Commission of Victoria ( VA652 ): 1978 - 1985
Agencies responsible for this record series: Department of Health and Human Services ( VA 5037 ): 2015 - present
Date Range
Series date range: 1955 - 1986
Series in custody:
1955 - 1986
Contents in custody:
1923 - 1986
Function / Content
This series consists of files created by the Hospitals and Charities Commission and its successor, the Hospitals Division of the Health Commission. The files document the Commission's responsibilities relating to the health institutions and benevolent societies that were required to register with it under the Hospitals and Charities Act. Health institutions include bodies such as public hospitals, geriatric centres/aged homes/nursing homes, children's homes, senior citizen's clubs, nursing schools/bush nursing centres, pre school centres/kindergartens and ambulance services. Benevolent societies include bodies such as Church/secular relief, philanthropic and other organisations.Specifically, the Commission was responsible for the registration of all these bodies, the determination of those to be subsidised through its administration of the Hospitals and Charities Fund, the administration and financial management of subsidised health institutions and benevolent societies and the inspection of health institutions that were not subsidised.
This series excludes files relating to private hospitals which are documented in a separate series (VPRS 14844). Files relating to the development of policy matters for all health institutions and benevolent societies are also documented in a different series (VPRS 14846).
The contents of many files predate the establishment of this series. The main reason for this is that any file relating to an health institution or benevolent society registered with the Commission in 1954 was originally part of another agency filing series (VPRS 14844). All of the health institution/benevolent society files in VPRS 14844 were progressively removed from 1955 onwards leaving it to eventually hold files relating exclusively to private hospitals.
Despite this the contents of some files may extend as far back as 1923. This is because the Commission had inherited the files in VPRS 14844 in turn from the predecessor Hospital and Charities Board. From an examination of the contents of such files, it is unclear as to the form of the record keeping systems managed by the former Board.
It is believed that this series was discontinued in 1986 but this is subject to further investigation.
How to use the records
Search or browse consignment listings for items of interest.Recordkeeping system
The files in this series are arranged in multiple file number order. The first (or primary) number represents a classified broad subject area. The second (or secondary) number identifies the specific agency whilst the third (or tertiary) number, if allocated, represents a specific subject within the classification.For example, file number 4-5-1 comprises the following elements;
- Primary Number (classification) = 4 (Property)
- Secondary Number (agency) = 5 (Apollo Bay & District Memorial Hospital)
- Tertiary Number (Specific subject within the classification) = 1 (Approved Funded - Staff Establishment)
The arrangement of files in this series is unusual because, unlike the great majority of multiple number systems, the main determinant is the secondary (i.e the agency identifier) rather than the primary number.
Additionally, a number of features relating to each of these numbers have been established. These are:
THE SECONDARY NUMBER: It would appear that the Commission's original intention was to allocate numbers within blocks each relating to a particular type of agency. The following blocks are apparent.
- Secondary numbers 1 - 198 = Public Hospitals
- Secondary numbers 199 - 298 = Geriatric Centres/Aged Homes/Nursing Homes
- Secondary numbers 299 - ? = Children's Homes
- Secondary numbers 499 - 598 do not appear to have been allocated as a block
- Secondary numbers 599 - 698 = Senior Citizen's Clubs
- Secondary numbers 699 - 798 = Nursing Schools/Bush Nursing Centres
- Secondary numbers 799 - 874 = Pre school Centres/Kindergartens
- Secondary numbers 875 - 914 = Ambulance Services
It is clear that the Commission/Division discarded the use of block numbering once all of the numbers within these blocks were allocated. It is also apparent that the initial allocation of numbers within all but the 499-598 block reflected an alphabetical arrangement by the name of the agency. This arrangement is not readily obvious today because the Commission/Division updated the agency name whenever there was a name change.
New agencies registered by the Commission/Division after the initial allocation were allocated the next available number initially from within the relevant designated block, then the 499-598 block, and finally, from number 915 onwards.
THE PRIMARY NUMBER: There were a total of 14 primary numbers supplemented by the use of colour coded file covers. The classifications and file cover colour combinations used were:
- 1 = Registration with brown file cover colour
- 2 = Property with beige file cover colour
- 3 = Works with blue file cover colour
- 4 = Staffing with yellow file cover colour
- 5 = Furniture and General Equipment with pink file cover colour
- 6 = Medical and Surgical Equipment with light blue file cover colour
- 7 = General with white file cover colour
- 8 = District Nursing Service with cream file cover colour
- 9 = Geriatrics with brown file cover colour
- 10 = Vehicles with brown file cover colour
- 11 = Indigent Patient Services with brown file cover colour
- 12 = Fees and Charges with off white file cover colour
- 13 = Works Finance with orange file cover colour
- 14 = Accounts Procedures with cream file cover colour.
THE TERTIARY NUMBER: This number was not always allocated within this system It would appear the original intention was to place all papers relating to the primary number classification subject on one file. If this was done for a particular agency, the file will contain only a primary and secondary number.
The tertiary number would thus only be allocated if the Commission/Division decided to create a file on a specific matter within the primary number classification. The first tertiary number allocated within the classification would be 1, the second 2 and so on.
On some files, a alphabetical character or characters would either be added to the tertiary number or replaced the tertiary number altogether. It is not known why this done and whether this was an original feature of the record keeping system. Characters identified to date are:
- AAS = currenty unknown and subject to further research
- C = currently unknown and subject to further research
- CDC = Chelsea Day Centre
- CG = Chair of Gerontology
- CHIS = Clinical Health Interpreter Service
- CMC = Community Medical Centre
- CS = Computer Services
- D = Development
- DH = Day Hospital
- DU = Dialysis Units
- EDE - Electronic Data Equipment
- EDP = Data Processing Equipment
- FC = Falls Creek
- FS = Food Services
- GC = Geriatric Centres
- GSL = currently unknown and subject to further research
- HMSG = currently unknown and subject to further research
- IR = Industrial Relations
- L = Laundry
- M = Medical
- MDC = Mornington Day Centre
- MDHC = Dartmouth Health Service
- MF = Maintenance Finance
- N = Nursing
- NWB = New Ward Block
- OHSU = Outpatient Surgery Unit
- OPA = Outstanding Patient Accounts
- PCE = Patient Complaints and Enquiries
- PL = Pathology Laboratory
- SDC = Springvale Day Centre
- SSL = Study Sabbatical Leave
- TP = Tasmanian Patients
- UP = currently unknown and subject to further research
The existence of control records for this series is subject to further research.
A number of gaps will be evident within the consignments held for this series. This is largely due to the Commission/Division's practice of removing files from this series (and other Commission/Division series) when these became too large to be easily handled. Such files were placed in a series specifically established for this purpose (VPRS 4523) and were allocated new file numbers.
A portion of this series was transferred to PROV in 1985. These files were accessioned and can be accessed as VPRS 4523/P2 units 820 - 943. These files will eventually be reprocessed as a consignment of VPRS 14845.
