Nineteenth century medicine (British public health) Flashcards
What was the state of public health in Britain by the early 1800s?
Very poor. Because of the Industrial revolution, people moved from the countrysides to big cities where they hoped to get better jobs working in new factories. Due to this mass immigration, finding a place for these people to live became a problem. To tackle this problem, the council built cheap, back to back housing.
What were back-to-back houses like?
They were crowded, often with more than one family sharing one room. They didn’t have toilets either so a bucket was used instead (although some had shared toilets with cesspits beneath them). These buckets were either emptied out on the streets, sold as manure or dumped into rivers where people drank and washed their clothes in.
What problems did back-to-back housing cause?
People caught diseases like typhoid, tuberculosis and cholera; but didn’t know why (germ theory was published in 1861). Also, they couldn’t do anything about it since there were no street cleaners, garbage collectors, fresh water supply or sewage disposal.
What problems did cholera cause?
Cholera arrived in Britain in 1831 and killed 50,000 people in that year alone. Victims vomited violently, had painful diarrhoea, their nails turned black and they died. People didn’t know what was causing this new disease and were frustrated at not knowing how to prevent people dying.
What did people think were the causes of cholera?
The majority of people thought that miasma was the cause of cholera was miasma. People thought that the smell of rotten sewage on the street and the smell of damp, overcrowded houses was the cause of cholera. To tackle this problem, some cities cleaned up their streets. However, the importance of a clean water supply was still not understood.
What made the government act?
Following two more cholera outbreaks in 1837 and 1838, the government finally acted. In 1839, they set up an inquiry into the health of the general public. Over a 3 year period, he sent doctors into every city and interviewed people on their living and health conditions. He published his ‘Report on the sanitary conditions of the working population of Great Britain’ in 1842.Free copies were handed out to people who could make a difference.
What did Chadwick’s report outline?
- Medical officers should appointed in each city to be in charge of public health.
- People need clean water in order to develop clean habits.
- Disease was caused by rotting sewage on the streets and the damp, overcrowded houses. Theses need to be improved if things are to improve.
- The rich should pay for these improvements since they currently paying a lot for orphans to be looked after. Decreased parental death rates will mean the rich would pay less money.
- The government must be responsible for improving sewage and garbage.
- A healthier working population is a more productive working population.
How did people respond to Chadwick’s report?
Many people were shocked by the report, but the government did not act. This was because there was a strong laissez faire attitude in parliament. Politicians thought that the job of the government was to keep law and order, not look after the people. The poor are poor because they are lazy so the government should not help them.Many politicians owned back-to-back housing establishments and were making lots of money. Tearing them down and rebuilding them would cost them money, which they did not want.
What led to the Public Health act of 1848?
It took one more cholera outbreak in 1848 to make the government act. They passed the first Public Health act which stated that:
- A national board of health is to be created which has the power to set up local boards of health with the power to improve sewers, rubbish collections and public toilets in the worst areas affected.
- Local boards of health also makes sure new houses are built to reasonable standards. I.e. with drains and toilets.
- Local boards of health could appoint medical officers to inspect the worst affected areas.
- Councils could raise taxes to pay for these improvements.
Why didn’t much change after 1848?
The improvements were not compulsory so many councils didn’t bother making them.
What did John Snow do in 1854?
During a cholera epidemic, people on the street where Snow worked on were dying of cholera, so he decided to investigate. He discovered that all the people who died from cholera on that street got water from the same pump, and the people who hadn’t died got water from other places. Snow concluded that cholera didn’t spread by miasma, but by water.
What were the consequences of the Great Stink of 1858?
In 1858, a heatwave caused the river Thames to stink from all the rubbish, sewage, dead animals and chemicals that were dumped in it. The smell was so bad parliament had to move away. Finally, the government acted.
What did the government do after 1858?
The government gave architect Joseph Bazalgette £1 billion to build over 80 miles of sewers under the city which took away 420 million gallons of sewage per day.They were completed in 1866.
What else did the government do following 1858?
- In 1866, the government passed the Sanitary act which made it compulsory for big towns and cities to have proper sewage disposal and clean water supplies.
- In 1875, the government passed the Housing act which gave councils the power to pull down the worst slums and rebuild them.
- In 1875, the second Public Health act was passed. This made it compulsory for local councils to keep their streets lit and clean rubbish off the streets.
What other factors helped improve public health in the 19th century?
In 1867, the Reform act gave working class men the vote. They were the majority in the country so political parties now had to please them by promising to improve their living conditions in order to get voted into power.
