Public Health in Britain➡️1800-1914 Flashcards
Describe Bazalgette’s sewers (1859) and how effective they were.
- Bazalgette was given £3 million to clean water➡️Invested in 5 brick- lined sewers which connected 82 miles and pumping stations.
- Bazalgette designed sewers which took into account predicted population figures, optimised flow and were self-cleaning.
- Made Thames one of the cleanest rivers in the world, sewer system still used today and Bazalgette created a blueprint for effective sanitary conditions.
Why were improvements to public health necessary in the 19th Century?
- Water supply (Thames) was contaminated➡️Diseases such as cholera were rife.
- Lack of housing➡️Overcrowded, back-to-back terraced housing➡️People living in wet cellars with animals (e.g: pigs).
- Open cesspits in streets and few toilets➡️E.g: Parliment Street= 1 toilet for 380 inhabitants.
- Rapid population increase➡️Poor infrastructure e.g: waste disposal, housing & water provision.
- Poor people couldn’t afford to live in good conditions and get doctors.
What changes were made to public health between 1875 and 1900?
- 1876➡️Building regulations.
- 1876 Rivers Pollution Prevention Act➡️Designed to stop factories and other businesses from dumping their waste in rivers which provided drinking water (only made compulsory 20thC).
- 1888 Port Sunlight➡️One of the first ‘model villages’.
- 1889➡️Isolation hospitals for infectious diseases.
- 1890s Bournville➡️Another model village.
Why was Bournville considered a ‘model village’?
Provided good homes for workers at the nearby Cadbury’s factory➡️1895= 143 cottages built with large gardens, not overshadowed and with running water➡️1/10 of Bournville estate kept for use as parks, recreational grounds and open space and sport facilities also provided.
How did Edwin Chadwick affect Public Health in Britain?
- Employed by Poor Law Commission to report on living conditions and health of poor➡️His report concluded much poverty was due to ill health caused by foul conditions and the best way of reducing the cost to the ratepayer of looking after the poor was to improve their health.
- To improve people’s health he suggested providing adequate drainage, removing rubbish from the streets, improving water supplies and appointing a district medical officer with special qualifications.
- Local ratepayers resisted Chadwick’s improvements➡️Govt. reluctantly passed voluntary Public Health Act 1848 but by 1872 only 50 councils had appointed medical officers and in 1854 the Board of Health was disbanded.
What was the 1909 budget proposed by Lloyd George and how was it changed to form the 1910 budget?
- 1909➡️Raised tax on tobacco and spirits.
- 1909➡️Raised income tax by 16%.
- 1909➡️Introduced a new 20% tax on profits from selling land.
- 1909➡️The House of Lords refused to agree to the tax increases.
- 1910➡️The land tax was dropped and the budget accepted in 1910.
What did Charles Booth do?
- In 1885 Booth became angry about the claim made by Hyndman of the Social Democratic Federation that 25% of Londoners lived in poverty.
- After investigating this ‘pauperism’ Booth published his first volume of the Life and Labour of the People of London in 1889 which suggested that 35% rather than 25% were living in poverty.
- Booth expanded his research to cover all of London, producing 17 volumes of work. Amongst his conclusions were that Old Age Pensions were necessary.
What were the for and against views on national insurance?
✅A vital safety net to tide people over hard times.
❌Poor people had to pay the contributions out of their wages, dole and sickness pay only lasted for a limited time, and the money given was not enough to live off.
What are the themes in the public health course?
- Causation➡️Causes of public health reforms, causes of lack of reforms.
- Effectiveness➡️How effective each reform was.
- Varying pace➡️The speed of how things develop.
- Significance➡️How much reforms impacted, whether it’s a turning point in public health.
- Changing nature➡️How the focus of public health changed.
- Opposition➡️Why and when people opposed reforms.
What changes to public health were made between 1800 and 1860?
- 1802+ Factory Act(s)➡️Improved people’s working conditions.
- 1834➡️Poor Law Amendment Act.
- 1848 Public Health Act➡️Set up a Board of Health and gave towns the rights to appoint a Medical Officer (voluntary).
- 1853➡️Vaccination against smallpox made compulsory.
- 1854➡️Improvements in hospital hygiene introduced (thanks to in large part Florence Nightingale).
- 1855 Nuisance Removal Act➡️Introduced sanitary inspectors after 1853-4 cholera outbreak.
How did John Snow affect Public Health in Britain?
- In 1854 Snow investigated a cholera outbreak in Soho➡️He interviewed local residents and plotted a dot map of deaths.
- Snow found that those who died had all drunk from the same water pump on Broad Street➡️His dot map convinced the local council to remove the pump handle and deaths stopped in the area.
- However, no other action was taken to improve public health because Snow couldn’t explain his findings so without explanation and strong supporting evidence the government was reluctant to change public health on the basis of Snow’s findings.
How did lack of knowledge limit improvements to public health?
At the beginning of the 19thC people understood the link between dirt and disease but were still unaware that germs caused disease➡️This meant people didn’t understand it was necessary to improve conditions as they didn’t understand that germs in the poor conditions was causing illness and costing businesses money as a result of sickness.
What were the for and against views on labour exchanges?
✅By 1914, 1 million people were being employed through the labour exchange.
❌Most of these jobs were temporary or part-time; the government didn’t do anything to increase the number of jobs available.
What were the for and against views on free medical treatments?
✅Literally a life-saver.
❌Only for the wage earners- it was not available to their wife or children.
What were the for and against views on free school meals?
✅By 1914 150,000 children were getting one good meal a day.
❌Not compulsory so some councils didn’t provide free meals.
What problems were there in Birmingham before Joseph Chamberlain?
- Much of the housing in Birmingham was of poor quality and many industrial workers were living in slums➡️Life expectancy in these areas was poor.
- Two gas companies in Birmingham- Birmingham Gas and Staffordshire Gas- were in constant competition with each other➡️They were continually digging up streets to lay new gas mains which caused great inconvenience for people in city.
- Approx. half of population dependent on well water, much of which was polluted with sewage➡️Water supply considered a danger to public health.
Why was Port Sunlight considered a ‘model village’?
Provided good homes for workers at nearby soap factory➡️Cottages had leaded windows, their own running water and indoor bathrooms➡️1909= 700 cottages, gymnasium and open air swimming pool.
Who was Lloyd George hated and loved by?
❤️Old people celebrated and blessed Lloyd George.
😡Many workers hated paying National Insurance.
What did Seebohm Rowntree do?
- Rowntree’s father carried out major surveys of poverty in Britain, inspiring Seebohm to investigate poverty in York.
- He found that poverty was either primary (due to earnings being insufficient) or secondary (earnings sufficient but money mispent on things such as alcohol).
- Rowntree became close friends with Lloyd George who introduced a series of reforms influenced by Rowntree, including Old Age Pensions and National Insurance.
