Healthcare Flashcards
Before Singapore became a crown colony, what were the healthcare opportunities
The government did not provide medical services for the general public, the government doctors looked after sick soldiers and European doctors looked after the Europeans and rich asians only. This left the poorer asians who suffered from malnutrition, overcrowding and poor sanitation, to a high death rate.
What did the migrants do about their healthcare before Singapore became a crown colony.
Various local groups developed a self help organisation instead of relying on the government. For example, Gan Eng Seng established the Thong Chai Medical Institute which gave free treatment and medicin e to the poor people of all races. Successful business men also donated a large sum of money to provide medical services.
After Singapore became a crown colony, what changed.
The governments’ coordinated attempts were made to improve health care. in 1887, the government set up the public health department to tackle public health issues in the town area. some measures include setting up a malaria committee to supervise the draining of swamps. a new general hospital was also built on Outram road. the quarantine law was also passed in 1886 whereby passengers arriving in Singapore had to be examined by a doctor. those found to be carrying a disease were isolated to prevent the spreading of the disease.
what was one reason for the high death rate amongst the Asians.
the high death rate was due to the overcrowded and unhygienic living conditions. the workers preferred to stay in shophouses. however the shophouse was often overcrowded, unsanitary, and poorly ventilated, this gave a rise to the spread of highly contagious diseases such as tuberculosis and cholera.
another reason was a poor understanding of certain diseases,not until 1897 that sir Donald ross discovered that malaria was transmitted through mosquitoes. before that, doctors thought that it was transmitted through poisonous air.
