changes in public health

• when was the Manchester board of health set up?

  1795
• what were private acts of Parliament?

  gave specific powers or benefits to individuals or bodies rather than general public
• what does the term 'vested interests' mean?

  a personal reason for involvement in something, normally for financial reasons
• give 2 examples of local health improvements

  • 1846 - City of Liverpool obtained a sanitary Act that made corporations a health authority , empowered it to appoint a medical officer of health
  • Leeds and Manchester took advantage of new status under Municipal Corporation ACT 1835. Assumed control of paving , sewerage , street cleaning and drinking
• why did vested interest reduce the effectiveness of public health measures at a local level?

  vested interests e.g night-soil men to clergy and owners of water companies = paid off or represented the improvement committees themselves
• 3 success of the 1848 Public Health Act

  • start of 1850 - 192 towns asked for public health regulations , Act applied to 32 of them
  • 1853 - Act applied in 182 towns
  • Some town councils = took Act even further through Acts of Parliament
• 3 measures introduced under Rochdale Improvement Act of 1853


  • comissioners must cleanse + improve River Roche within towns
  • if anyone discharges smoke of any furnace or fireplace or steam from any building , fine of 40 shillings
  • comissioners could purchase, take , hold and dispose of lands and other property
• 2 reasons why the public health act of 1848 had a limiting impact

  • sanitary engineering = expensive
  • vested interest in water companies remained strong
• 2 reasons Public Act of 1848 was important

  • marked beginning of state's intervention in public health
  • increased understanding about causes , transmissions and prevention of disease
• 2 problems with housing in the early C19

  housing was expensive and there were lots of overcrowding
• name 2 towns or cities that attempted to improve housing

  Leeds and Liverpool in 1842
• what did the Nuisances Removal Act in 1855 do?

  empowered local authorities to combat overcrowding with fines and persecution
• what did the Common Lodging Houses Law in 1851 and 1853 do?

  • said that all lodging houses had to be registered and inspected by Police.
  • Flopped = badly drafted , rarely enforced by police
• what did the Sanitary Act of 1866 do?

  placed limitations on use of cellars for occupation
• what was the problem with Birmingham's attempts to improve housing?

  • Began slum clearance programme under order of mayor Joseph Chamberlain.
  • Ordered town council to buy 4 acres of slumhouses and replace them with workshops and shopping centres
  • Left many homeless
• what were the problems with housing after World War One?

  • house building stopped and minimal repair
• what did the Housing Act of 1919 do?

  • local councils gave government subsides to enable them to build affordable housing for low income people
• what improvements to housing were there by 1939?


  • most houses had piped water , connected to a sewer system
  • 505 had hot water and fixed bath
• what did William Lever do?

  • built 800 houses from 1899-1914 at Port Sunlight , Merseyside
  • New site for soap making business
  • had schools and hospitals
  • introduced welfare scheme
• what did Ebenezer Howard do?

  • Wrote 'To-morrow : A Peaceful Path to Real Reform in 1898'
  • Developed theory that we should all live in harmony with nature - plenty of space , light, fresh air. Started Garden city movement
• what did Octavia Hill do?

  • repaired rundown artisans cottages , made sure they were connected to sewers , had access to clean water
  • 1870 = 3,000 tennants
• what did Titus Salt do?

  • Wealthy Broadford Mill Owner
  • Moved factory and its workers out of polluted environment to village of Saltiare
  • Built village for workers , set strict rules , no public houses built , no washing to be hung out on Sunday
• who discovered a vaccination for Smallpox in 1789?

  Edward Jenner
• when was the Smallpox Epidemic?

  1837-1840

  • 42,000 died , thousands disfigured for life
• what problems did the smallpox vaccination face?

  • vaccination only used by wealthy, too expensive
  • increase in anti-vaccination movement
  • before discovery of Pasteurs Germ Theory = medical operations went badly. No antiseptics , no understanding of need to sterilise needles
• how did the City of Leicester respond to vaccination?

  • infected people quarantined , burned infected bedding and clothing
  • Leicester anti-vaccination league = 1869, joined with London Society for abolishment of compulsory vaccination
• what did the demonstrations in Leicester achieve?

  Obtained private act to make quaratine of smallpox victims compulsory
• how did the Government respond to Leicester's riots?

  1898 - insertion of a 'conscience clause' in Smallpox Act 203 , 143 exemption certificates issued
• how many babies were vaccinated by 1898?

  26.6%
• why were many towns relucantant to appoint medical officers?

  if councils spent money on public health improvements , it included the salary of a medical officer of health?
• 2 cities that appointed medical officers in 1840s

  Leicester and Liverpool
• How did the government respond to smallpox epidemic in 1837-1840?

  Permissive vaccination act (1840) - made vaccines = free

  Compulsory Vaccination Act (1853) - babies had to be vaccinated within 3 months who had smallpox
• which disease was the biggest killer in the 19th century?

  Tuberculosis - 1/3 of all deaths from it
• why did Tuberculosis spread so quickly?

  • spread rapidly in overcrowded , poorly ventilated conditions
  • common amongst urban working class due to poor living conditions
• how was Tuberculosis dealt with in Brighton?

  local medical officer of Health issued similar leaflets , urged people to spit into bowls
• how was Tuberculosis dealt with in Oldham?

  Local medical officer of health ordered leaflets of all houses , stressing TB was highly infectious.

  • believed it spread by spitting , spitting banned in public
  • local authorities disinfected all houses with TB victims in
• what was sanitoria?

  A sanatorium was a medical facility for the treatment of patients with chronic illnesses, particularly tuberculosis.
• what action did the government take in 1922 take to further limit the spread of TB?

  • Ministry of Health ordered pasteurisation of milk
  • 1934 - Act passed to empower local authorities to make free pasteurised milk
• how many children received school milk in 1937?

  3.2 million
• how many sanitoria was there by 1911?

  84 in 1911

  500 in 1930 - providing 25,000 beds