The Hospital Recognition Committee (HRC) was first established in 1944 as a sub-committee of the Examination Committee. It became a full standing committee in 1947.
From 1935 the inspection and recognition of hospitals had been a regular part of the Examination Committee's work. The impetus behind the establishment of the Hospital Recognition Sub-committee in 1944 was provided by the Interdepartmental Committee on Medical Schools (Goodenough Committee). The Hospital Recognition Sub-committee was established to draw up a list of hospitals which could be recognised for training to consultant status. The Sub-committee reported in January 1945. Its earliest extant minutes (numbered K1) date from September 1946, and show that the Sub-committee was performing the functions previously routinely performed by the Examination Committee in administering the recognition of hospital posts.
The first meeting of the HRC as a full standing committee took place on 19 March 1947 (K2). In the 1950s and 1960s its membership was co-extensive with that of the Examination Committee. In 1973, however, Council undertook a review of the College's committees and decided to streamline the Examination Committee, making it into a small executive committee. The existing composition and functions of the HRC were maintained.
In 1998 the HRC took over the functions of the Higher Training Committee (HTC) (which had been dissolved) relating to recognition of Specialist Registrar hospital posts. The HRC's remit at this time was:
to undertake regular assessment and, where appropriate, recognise as satisfactory, training in obstetrics and gynaecology in defined posts, against defined standards, for hospitals who request such recognition, both in the UK and overseas;
to make recommendations for the improvement of training and monitor the implementation of such recommendations.
The HRC was serviced by the Postgraduate Training Department, and then the Specialist Registration Department, until its demise in 2007.
