Unit 4: Modern Britain Flashcards
What is penicillin?
It is an antibiotic, it kills bacteria that is harmful. Before the development of penicillin many people suffered and died from bacterial infections that are no longer considered dangerous today
Who discovered penicillin?
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 when he found a penicillin mould that was left in his office, it was free from other bacteria
Which scientists became interested in Flemings work?
Florey and chain became interested in Flemings work and in 1939 they gathered a very skilled research team to look into it
What doctor trialed penicillin?
Charles fletcher in 1941 trailed penicillin on a patient, however the patient died because he wasn’t given enough of it to get rid of all the bacteria
Why was penicillin mass produced?
The Second World War helped the urgency to mass produce it, they moved to America to get it produced because Britain was involved in the war and America wasn’t at that point. When America became involved they gave 80 million to help produce it
Who originally discovered penicillin?
The mould was first discovered in the early 19th century by John Sanderson, in the 1880’s Joseph lister noted these observations and wrote to his brother saying he would try penicillin on infected wounds. He successfully treated a nurse and did not continue his research
Who was Alexander Fleming?
He was a British doctor, he was shocked at how many people died of simple infections so he started investigating. He found something unusual on his Petri dish where there was no bacteria around the mould. In 1929 he published his findings
What was the impact of penicillin?
It is estimated that without penicillin, another 12-15 percent of wounded soldiers would have died of infections.
It roughly halved the average time the allied wounded spent in the hospital
What were the factors that helped penicillins production?
-new scientific methods and technology, This meant scientist were able to watch and gain evidence of how it killed bacteria
-government support, us government agreed to fund research for five years
-changing attitudes in society, there was a huge demand from the public to find a solution to infected soldiers dying
-key individuals, Florey and chain work on penicillin
What is a hereditary disease?
A disease that is passed down from parent to child or grandparent to child
What are three hereditary diseases?
Diabetes
Breast cancer
Cystic fibrosis
What was the belief about human cells in 1951?
It was believed that a substance was in human cells was responsible for passing on information. They did not know what this substance was but it would help to explain some diseases
What did Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Watkins discover?
They identified the substance that carried genetic information from parent to child, it was named DNA. They also photographed it using a powerful x-ray.
What did Jason Watson and Francis crick discover?
In 1953 they were shown the x-rays from Franklin and Watkins work, they began to work on what DNA looked like. They discovered that it was shaped like a double helix and it could make copies of itself. They began finding the parts of dna that were responsible for hereditary diseases
What did Watson set up in 1990?
He set up the human genome project, thousands of scientists from 18 countries worked to map the human genome. A genome is the complete set of genes in a living creature, they identified DNA from every part of the body, it was possible to use this ‘map’ to spot any faults in the dna of people with hereditary diseases
Why was the study of DNA possible?
-Advances in technology
-Key individuals & collaboration
-Money
-Government help
Why was the discovery of DNA important?
It meant that scientists are now able to identify the specific genes which pass on a number of hereditary diseases such as Down’s syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, haemophilia and some cancers
What are the causes of poor health and disease?
-Alcohol
-Smoking
-Unprotected sex
-Obesity
-Lack of exercise
-Stress
-Diet
-Drug taking
-Poverty
-Tanning
Why is smoking a cause of poor health and disease?
Smoking became fashionable after the 1920’s and doctors have linked it to cancers like lung cancer. It also causes high blood pressure and tooth decay. Second hand smoking can cause disease and asthma can develop in children if smokers
Why was doctors linking lifestyle and health important?
It helped stop increase in diseases, it educates people on what their lifestyle does to their body and has explanations for diseases.
What was a magic bullet?
It was a term used to describe a chemical which would target the germs which caused disease, it would target the problem without effecting the rest of the body.
What was the first magic bullet?
In 1909 a Japanese scientist named Hata found that compound number 606 that cured syphilis. Which had been an ongoing problem since the 1500’s. The drug was named Salvarsan 606
What was the second magic bullet?
In 1932 scientist Gerhard Domagk discovered that another chemical called prontosil killed bacterial infections in mice, he tried it on his daughter who had blood poisoning. It was successful and inspired other scientists to look for magic bullets
What was MB 693?
In 1938 British scientists developed MB 693, which was a magic bullet. This was used to successfully treat Winston Churchill for pneumonia during the Second World War
What is the capsule design?
When taking a drug, the capsules containing the drug now dissolve in the stomach to release the drug. This makes taking medicines easier for the patient
What are examples of modern hospital treatments?
-Dialysis machines
-plastic surgery
-pacemakers
-prosthetic limbs
-microsurgery
-organ transplants
Why was money an issue for medical care in 1900?
Money was an issue because many working people still couldn’t afford doctors or buy medicines
What reforms were made by the liberal government to healthcare?
These changes were mad because of the Boer war, one third of the volunteers for the army were rejected because of their health, this showed how poor health was so common. Some of the reforms were; training midwifes became compulsory, all births had to be notified, nurses or doctors carried out checks in schools, free medical treatment for children
What were the positives and negatives of the reforms made by the liberal government?
Treatment and care improved however people still struggled to afford.
What was the beveridge report?
People loved the fact that the government was providing for the welfare of the people, William beveridge wanted this to be permanent. It proposed weekly payments, the right to get money unemployed and maternity/funeral grants
How was the beverage report different from any system that existed before?
Before people were living very unhygienically because they couldn’t afford health care and illnesses would spread, this helped the beverage report sell because people wanted better health due to people dying
What is the NHS?
The national health service was formed in 1948 by the labour government minister of health. It was the biggest government intervention in medical care that Britain had ever seen, it took full control of the healthcare system and promised that its services would be free for everyone
Why was the NHS launched un 1948?
-Greater democracy
-War
-The beveridge report
-Key individuals
-Changes social attitudes towards the poor
-Support from doctors
What was the NHS’ control over the hospitals?
The government took control of the 1,143 rural voluntary hospitals and 1,545 hospitals of which needed desperately updating. At dust the government was not able to afford the improvements however by the 1960’s funding was given and the number of hospitals in areas without hospital care increased
What was the NHS’ control of GP surgery’s?
This gave far greater access for healthcare and treatment in every part of the country. Free prescriptions could also be given for eye tests and glasses. 8 million pairs of glasses were given out in the first year and 187 million prescriptions were handed out.
What was the impact of the NHS on healthcare and treatment of patients?
-the life expectancy increased massively
-hospitals gained advanced technology and medical equipment
-number of doctors who worked for nhs doubled between 1948-1971
-many immigrants after the war were qualified doctors and nurses
The impact of the NHS on the healthcare and treatment of women?
-the NHS drastically reduced the number of women dying from childbirth
-after 1948 the nhs provided women with midwife’s, vaccinations and female health visitors
The impact of the NHS on the healthcare and treatment of children?
-the government funded health education for schools
-mothers and children received visits from specialised health workers
-school medical services were setup
-social workers and other professional organisations were given information about children
What were the criticisms of the NHS?
-there was a high demand on the services the nhs could provide, waiting times began to increase and patients having less time to speak to doctors
-some services which were originally free began to charge a fee to make up funding due to population increasing e.g prescriptions
-issues with hospital hygiene for example the outbreak of the MRSA
What was the outbreak of MRSA?
Also known as the ‘superbug’ the outbreak in some hospitals caused the death of patients in the 1990’s
What were the importance and impact of technology?
-improved diagnosis and treatments
-greater collaboration between medical experts
-patients having more control
-greater medical accuracy
-less need for surgery or invasive procedures
What were national vaccination schemes?
Since the success of jenners smallpox vaccine, the government have supported further vaccines against deadly diseases after 1900. Several vaccinations programmes were launched. Three notable successful vaccines have been to prevent diphtheria, polio and measles
What was the diphtheria vaccine?
Diphtheria is a disease which can cause difficultly breathing, heart failure and even death. In 1942 the government launched a national vaccination scheme. They used publicity campaigns such as posters, newspaper and radio broadcasts. Infections rates reduced drastically by 1957
What was the polio vaccine?
Polio is a highly contagious disease which attacks the digestive system, bloodstream and nervous system, muscle weakness and paralysis. In 1956 the shock of a footballers death encouraged the public to support the polio vaccination. The vaccination was so successful that the disease was nearly eradicated
What was the measles vaccination?
Measles is seen as less serious but for pregnant mothers young children and elderly it can be fatal. It causes rashes and high fever, in 1963 the vaccine started and today there are low cases but deaths are very rare
What was drinkaware?
In 2004 the government began a campaign to make people aware of the effects of drink driving, binge drinking and underage drinking. Some campaigns use shocking images to grab people’s attention and the drink aware logo is on some alcohol products tofay
What is change 4 life?
In 2015 this campaign promoted healthy eating and exercise by giving the public easy to understand information to change their unhealthy habits. There were over 1.9 million requests for health advice issued in the first year
What was the clean air health acts?
London often suffered with smog, it makes breathing difficult and over time causes other health problems such as asthma. The great smog of 1956 caused the clean air act, this meant that homes and industry’s had to control the amount of fuels they burned aswell as introducing no smoke zones.
What were some anti smoking laws to prevent illness?
-in 1965 adverts for cigarettes were banned
-in 1967 the government launched a campaign to make pregnant women aware of the risks of smoking
-in 2005 all tobacco advertising was banned
-in 2006 the health act banned smoking in public areas like public transport, pubs and restaurants
Why is diagnosing lung cancer difficult?
-it can go undetected as many patients mistake their symptoms for other minor diseases
-often it’s found too late
-there is no national screening program for it so people aren’t regularly checked
-tests aren’t accurate and x-rags can be harmful
What are three examples of modern technology to diagnose lung cancer?
CT scans
X-rays
Bronchosopy
What were some prevention laws to stop smoking?
-1990 increased tax on cigarettes
-2007 smoking banned in workplaces
-2007 raised legal age for buying tobacco
-2015 smoking banned in cars carrying children
