modern

• Surgeons had the opportunity to experiment with new techniques during the First World War, and surgery of the eye, ear, nose and throat all improved rapidly
• 1. rays


  First discovered 20 years before the war, hospitals installed X-ray machines, and the First World War confirmed their importance, with more being manufactured to meet demand and installed along the Western Front, improving the success rate of surgeons in removing deeply lodged bullets and shrapnel
• Blood transfusions


  In the renaissance, Harvey proved blood circulates and this encouraged experiment with transfusions, but they sometimes worked and sometimes failed as scientists didn't know about different blood groups, which were discovered in 1901 by Karl Landsteiner, making transfusions successful, and during the First World War doctors discovered how blood can be bottled, packed in ice and stored where it was needed, helping to save many lives
• The discovery and development of penicillin

  1. Fleming discovered mould killed germs, writes articles but publishes them in book with an obscure name

  2. Chain and Florey begin research in Oxford after reading an article by Fleming, they experiment with mice

  3. Penicillin is first tested on a human being in Oxford

  4. U.S. and Britain fund production of penicillin

  5. Enough penicillin is produced to treat all the allied forces wounded in the D-Day invasion of Europe
• How penicillin was discovered

  Fleming came to clean up some old culture dishes, and by chance a fungal spore had landed and grown on one of the dishes, he noticed that colonies of bacteria around the mould had stopped growing, and the fungus was identified and given the name penicillin
• How penicillin was developed

  In the 1930s two Oxford scientists, Florey and Chain, became interested in Fleming's 1929 paper, gathered a skilled research team, and the British government funded their research, but British chemical firms were too busy making explosives to start mass production so Florey went to the U.S. who helped mass produce penicillin, the casualties of World War Two adding to the urgency
• Factors leading to the development of penicillin

  • Government funding
  • Technology - microscopes and bacteria growing mediums
  • Scientific experiment - testing on mice
  • Skilled individuals - Florey and Chain
  • War - growing casualties of World War Two
  • Chance - Fleming's discovery in 1928
• Impact of the Second World War

  • Blood transfusion - blood could be stored for longer, civilians donated blood
  • Diet - rationing improved some people's diet, government encouraged healthy eating
  • Drugs - penicillin was developed as the first antibiotic
  • Poverty - evacuation took children out of urban areas, highlighting contrast between rich and poor
  • Surgery - developments in the use of skin grafts and treatment of burns
  • Hygiene - government posters educated people about health and hygiene
• Influence of WW2 on the introduction of the NHS

  WW2 broke down social distinctions and brought people together, the raising of armies made powerful people take notice of the health problems of the poor, and evacuation of children increased awareness of how disadvantaged many people were, leading to a desire for improvements in society after the war
• Introduction of the NHS

  Sir William Beveridge published his Beveridge Report in 1942 calling for state provision of social security "from the cradle to the grave", which became a bestseller, and Aneurin Bevan as Labour Minister for Health introduced the National Health Service, with National Insurance introduced to pay for it
• The NHS still has a few problems, with governments reducing how much is free, long waiting lists and doubts about quality of treatment leading to paying for treatment outside the NHS, and longer life expectancies increasing costs