1. Medical problems in the 19th Century Learning Objectives: ALL to identify the main health problems in the period c1750–1900 MOST – as above and to explain why public health did not improve before 1850. SOME – as above and to link these to urbanisation and industrialisation. Learning Objectives: ALL to identify the main health problems in the period c1750–1900 MOST – as above and to explain why public health did not improve before 1850. SOME – as above and to link these to urbanisation and industrialisation. 1) Identify what you think the main health problems in towns were at the time. 2) What do you think the main causes of these problems were? So what health problems did towns face...?

2. Urbanisation – the movement of people from the country to cities Industrialisation - the development of industry on an extensive scale http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/government-and-public-health- 1830-1850/3314.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/government-and-public-health- 1830-1850/3314.html Copy definitions:

3. So what health problems did towns face...?

4. The four most dangerous 19 th century diseases. Can you identify them by their description?

5. The Terraced Housing used coal to heat the houses and this meant soot would leave the chimney with the smoke. This would rise up in to the atmosphere and then land back down. The houses in poor areas such as Whitechapel were always near the railways which were polluting the air! So what caused these health problems...?

6. Government and public health 1830-1850 local and national acts passed following the cholera epidemic 1848 Public Health Act-weak law richer classes were reluctant to enforce the legislation local and national acts passed following the cholera epidemic 1848 Public Health Act-weak law richer classes were reluctant to enforce the legislation Father Thames introducing his offspring to the fair city of London; diphtheria, scrofula and cholera.

7. I cannot afford to see a doctor if I am ill. We do not have running water. We share one toilet between several families. It is no wonder we are ill. The government needs to help us! It is not my fault that the poor get ill. We know that dirt is linked to disease. They should take a bath! I am not paying higher taxes to solve their problem! What should the government do? How would these men from the 19th century answer? The labourer The Land Lord

8. What did the government do? In 1848 the first Public Health Act caused the setting up of a Board of Health, and gave towns the right to appoint a Medical Officer of Health. In 1853 vaccination against smallpox was made compulsory. In 1854 improvements in hospital hygiene were introduced (thanks in large part to Florence Nightingale). In 1875 a Public Health Act enforced laws about slum clearance, provision of sewers and clean water, and the removal of nuisances. The benefits of these measures soon became clear, and by the late 19th century local councils were competing with each other to provide the best public health.