Professional strategies of Medical Officers of Health in the post‐war period – 2: ‘progressive realism’: the case of Dr R. J. Donaldson, MOH for Teesside, 1968–1974

This paper discusses the work of Raymond J. Donaldson, who served as Medical Officer of Health (MOH) on Teesside in the North-East of England, 1968–1974, and the professional strategy that he adopted during this period is characterized. It is shown that Donaldson effectively withdrew from areas where the local authority public health department and general practitioners offered the same services, and consciously sought the complete attachment of some grades of staff to general practice. This approach, which was based on the view that in the long term the local authority could not compete successfully with general practitioners, allowed him to develop other activities, notably in the area of action research. ‘Progressive realism’ will be suggested as a suitable description for Donaldson's professional strategy during his time in Teesside.