Impact on Medicine from WW2 Flashcards
Blood transfusion
Albert Hustin
Plastic Surgery
Harold Gillies - severe facial wounds had to be helped.
Diet
People were forced to ration, began growing their own food - healthier diet introduced.
Poverty
Evacuees health
had improved majorly whilst away to the countryside - the government had to make a change in the poorer areas.
Drug development
‘Wonder drug’ penicillin was produced for UK and US for use during the war - found as an antibiotic after WW1
Hygiene and Disease
Diphtheria vaccine offered free to children in 1940, posters made to prioritise public health.
NHS
Introduced in 1948, healthcare was now free in the UK now. They later began to charge for some prescriptions for adults, such as fake teeth, as there was such a demand due to ‘backlog’.
Heart Surgery
Dwight Harkin, cut into beating hearts, and used his bare hands to remove debris and bullets.