Concern grows during the inter-war period over the relatively poor state of Scotland’s health and of the capacity of the existing patchwork of services to remedy it.
This prompts the Secretary of State for Scotland to set up a committee with a wide ranging brief.
The original chair was Sir John Dove-Wilson who died in April 1935. Edward Cathcart, professor of physiology at Glasgow University, took over and the report bears his name.
It is marked by its thoroughness and novel approach in seeking a service to promote health rather than simply treat illness. Cathcart praised the Highlands and Islands Medical Service whose air ambulance flights started as his committee was taking evidence.