Improvements In Medicine Flashcards
Third reform act, 1884
With this act around 2 in 3 men could now vote-over 2 million people
Government now forced to consider issues facing people of all classes but:
-women still did not have the vote
- MPs were still not given a salary. This made it difficult for men without independent wealth to become an MP
The social surveys of Charles booth and Seebohm Rowntree
Between 1886 and 1903 Charles booth interviewed people in poverty, doctors, teachers and priests in London
-his report life and labour of the people in London concluded that 30% of people in London lived in poverty and that the poor were not to blame for their condition
Seebohm Rowntree conducted research in York between 1899 and 1901
-his report ‘Poverty, a study of town life’ found that a person needed to earn 21 shillings a week to stay out of poverty. Anything less than this was below the poverty line. Rowntree found that 30% of people in York were living in poverty
Booth and Rowntree both identified the main cause of poverty as being illness, unemployment, and age. Both the very young and the old were most at risk of poverty
Changing attitudes to the role of government
By 1900 the previous laissez-faire approach in government was changing
The 1875 public health act had shown that the government could play a role in guaranteeing standards in health and hygiene
Significant poverty was still experienced by man, and the population was rising
Reasons for liberal government reforms, 1906-11:
Unfit soldiers
40% of men volunteering to fight for the British army during the Boer Wars in Africa (1899-1902) were too unhealthy too fight
Many had rickets caused by bad diet
This was an embarrassment for the government, and also a significant concern as the British Empire needed an effect and well trained army and navy
Liberal government reforms, 1906-11
The labour party
A new political party, the Labour Party, was created in 1900 its key goal was to represent working class voices in the British parliament
The liberal party were very concerned, especially when 26 Labour Party MPs were elected to parliament in the 1906 election
Liberal government reforms, 1906-11
The Liberal government
In the 1906 election the liberal government won a landslide victory
With 400 MPs they could enact a series of reforms, led by:
David Lloyd George-chancellor from 1908, declared war on poverty
Herbert Asquith-prime Minister from 1908 led the program of reform
Winston Churchill-at this time a radical young liberal and supporter of welfare, pensions and unemployment benefits
Liberal Government Reforms 1906-11
Improving the health of children
1906 - free school meals were introduced for children from poor families. Local authorities received a grant from the government to cover half the cost of these, and the number of meals provided by the government increased from 3 MILLION IN 1906 TO 14 MILLION BY 1914.
1907 - compulsory school medical inspections were carried out out to check children for conditions such as ringworm and lice, although treatment was not free
1908 - the children and young persons act made it illegal to sell tobacco and alcohol to children, and illegal to send a child out begging or to neglect a child children who committed crimes were sent to special prisons called borstals
1912 - medical clinics were set up in schools to provide free treatment
Helping the elderly
Pensions
1909 - Old Age Pensions were introduced for people over the age of 70who earned less than £31.50 per week
They received 5 shillings (25p) per week, about 1/6 of the average working man’s weekly wage
Couples received 7 shillings and 6 pence
By 1914 one million people were receiving a pension
What were the labour exchanges?
Set up in 1909 these were places unemployed men could go for work, though the jobs were often short term
What was the National insurance act?
In 1911 the government brought in the national insurance act in two parts:
PART 1 (health insurance)
- workers in manual trades earning less than £160 per year paid 4d per week into a scheme and employers and the government adding a further contribution, many workers who became ill could receive:
- 10 shillings (50p) per week they were off sick, for up to 13 weeks, and then an additional 5 shillings per week for an additional 13 weeks
- treatment from a doctor linked to the scheme
- maternity grants to pay for baby essentials
PART 2 (unemployment insurance)
- workers in certain trades earning less than £160 per year paid 2d per week into a scheme and then if they became unemployed could claim:
- 7 shillings (35p) per week in unemployment benefit for up to 15 weeks
Who was Edwin Chadwick?
The person put in charge of the full scale enquiry into the health of the British people launched by the British government in the early 1840s
What did Chadwick publish in 1842?
REPORT IN THE SANITARY CONDITION OF THE LABOURING POPULATION OF GREAT BRITAN
What did Chadwick argue in his report?
- slum housing, inefficient sewerage and impure water supplies were causing the deaths of about 60,000 people every year
- middle class people lived longer and healthier lives because they could afford to pay to have their sewage removed and fresh water piped into their homes (the average age of death for professional class in Liverpool was 35, but only 15 for the working classes)
- the private companies that removed sewage and supplied fresh water were inadequate - these services should be supplied by the government via a “supply of piped water, and an entirely new system of sewers, using circular, glazed clay pipes instead of the old, square, brick tunnels”
Who opposed Edwin Chadwick’s ideas?
- owners of the private companies who made very large profits from supplying fresh water to the middle class in towns and cities
- rich householders who were already paying for these services were worried that Chadwick’s proposals would mean them paying higher taxes
- Chadwick could be arrogant and stubborn - he gained many enemies who resented is domineering personality
How did the government respond to Chadwick’s recommendations?
They refused to take action
How did Chadwick react to the government refusing to take action?
- he set up his own company to provide sewage disposal and a fresh water supply to the towns and cities of Britain
- wanted to create one tunnel taking the sewage into the countryside to sell as manure (eww), then another pipe supplying fresh water from the countryside to the cities
- however most people preferred to invest in their money in railway companies, without the necessary start-up capital, Chadwick was forced to abandon his plan
When did the British government propose a public health bill?
In 1847 - based on some of Chadwick’s recommendations
Who opposed the public health bill (1847)?
- a large number of MPs who were strong supporters of laissez-faire, they argued that it was up to individuals to decide on what goods or services they wanted to buy, such as sewage removal and water supply
- people also argued there was no medical evidence that linked disease and poor hygiene
Support of the public health bill (1847)
- supporters of Chadwick argued that many people were not informed enough to make good decisions on these matters
- the health of towns association, formed by doctors, began a propaganda campaign in favour of reform and encouraged people to sign a petition in favour of the public health bill
- although this was not enough to convince parliament, and in July the bill was defeated
What encouraged parliament to pass the 1848 public health act?
- news had reached Britain of a cholera outbreak in Egypt, the disease gradually spread west, and by early 1848 it had arrived in Europe
- a previous cholera outbreak in Britain in 1831 had killed 20,000 people
Chadwick had pointed out that nearly all these deaths had occurred in areas with impure water supplies and inefficient sewage removal systems
What did the 1848 public health act do?
- set up a general board of Health for a 5 year term run by 3 commissioners, including Chadwick
- allowed towns to:
- set up their own local boards of health (once more than one-tenth of the ratepayers agreed to it, or the death rate was higher than 23 per 1000 in the town)
- appoint a medical officer
- organise the removal of rubbish
- build a sewer system
Was the 1848 public health act successful?
- the act was passed too late to stop the outbreak of cholera that arrived in Britain in September 1848, killing 80,000 people
Who was Dr John Snow?
- cared for patients during the 1832 cholera epidemic in Newcastle
- was a vegetarian and did not drink alcohol
- became a member of the royal college of surgeons in may 1838
When did John Snow publish On the Mode of Communication of Cholera?
After the 1849 cholera outbreak
He argued against the miasma theory
Suggested the contamination of drinking water as a result of cholera evacuations seeping into wells or running into rivers
What did Johns Snow’s investigation into the 1854 cholera outbreak and the broad street pump find?
- there were 500 fatal cases of cholera within 200 meters of the broad street pump
- in houses closer to another pump, only 10 people died - these families confirmed they drank from the broad street pump
- in a local work house with its own water supply, only 5 people died out of the 535 people living there
- workers from a local brewery who drank the free beer were not affected
- the first case was probably a baby who lived at 40-broad street - her mother had soaked her dirty nappies in water which was then emptied into the cesspool in front of her house. The brick lining to the cesspool was found to be cracked, leading to the polluted water leaking into the Broad Street pump, one meter away
When did John Snow remove the broad street pump?
On the 7th of September snow requested it to be removed, after this very few cases were reported
