The Changes in Public Health throughout the 19th & 20th Centuries
Before 1948 there was no National Health Service and the conditions people had to live in were awful, the hospitals were in dreadful states, the houses were cramped together, there was no sewage systems and filth and muck was just in piles on the road. In the 19th century Britain became the first industrialised nation and with this came a lot of health problems. Things would stay in these poor conditions with the new health problems until 1842 when three recommendations were made for all of the industrialised towns. Some towns did not follow these suggestions and left things as they were until 1875 when a Public Health Act was passed. ... Then the World Wars came and prompted health reforms. After the Second World War a National Health Service was made and the Labour Government brought it into existence.
As already mentioned above before 1948 a National Health Service did not exist, but by that time a big change in medicine had already occurred. ... All of this was the first big change in public health in the 19th century. ... The first was ‘Drainage and refuse collection should be organised’, the second was ‘a pure water supply should be provided’ and the last was ‘a medical officer of health should be appointed’. ... This was an improvement in public heath but it still wasn’t helping as places like Leeds took no notice of the suggestions and they just carried on living in the disgusting conditions they were in. ... In 1865 an outbreak of cholera hit England and Wales, this killed 14,000 people and health continued to be bad. ... At last in 1875 Parliament passed the Public Health Act. This made conditions in the towns much better because water systems were compulsory, as were sewage systems and a medical officer of health. ... The Public Health act was a huge success and worked effectively.
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