Problems With Public Health 1800s Flashcards
How did industrialisation increase population of towns
Huge migration of people from country to towns for work
What were the problems with houses , health etc.
Narrow streets
Badly ventilated houses
Over crowded houses
Squalid living conditions - lacked basic facilities such as toilets, running water
No rubbish collections
Pollution
Breeding ground for diseases - TB, cholera, typhus
Why was progress slow?
Government - didnt think it right to interfere in everyday lives of people
Didnt want to increase taxes ( affect the rich esp) to build sewers, drains etc
Many rich people made money out of renting to the poor and didnt want anything to chnage
Who was Edwin Chadwick?
Following more cholera outbreaks an enquiry was set up to investigate living conditions in Britain.
What were his findings?
Concluded that poverty and ill health was caused by terrible liviing conditions not by laziness.
His report shocked Britain.
What did he recommend?
Refuse removal
Effective sewage system and clean running water.
Qualified medical officer for each area.
What was 1848 Public Health Act?
Gave local towns and councils the power to spend money on cleaning up their towns.
Some like Birmingham and Liverpool made major improvements but many other didn,t bother.
Who was Dr John Snow?
He solved the cholera problem.
Studied a cholera hit area around Soho.
All victims got water from the Broad Street water pump.
Made the link between bad water and cholera.
What happened in the summer of 1858?
The Great Stink
A particularly hot summer, caused the Thames to smell worse than ever.
Stench so bad that politicians from Houses of Parliament asked to be moved.
Who was the sewer King?
Joseph Bazalgette was given £3m to build a sewer system.
Finished in 1866 and when it was fully operstional cholera never returned to London.
Soon parliament engaged in a flurry of action to clean up the streets and improve the nation’s health.
Other factors that reduced health problems
Nures - better trained and cleaner.
Medical progress - anaesthetics resulted in longer, more accurate operations.
Antiseptics developed - less risk of infection
Govt insisted everyone be vaccinated for smallpox
Railways brought fresh milk and fish
Cheap cotton - easier to wash
Top quality iron pipes - water and sewage pipes could be layed quickly and cheaply