18/19 Florence Nightingale

• Before Florence Nightingale

  • Though there was a growth in the number of hospitals in the early 19th century, conditions for patients were generally poor.
  • Wards were often cramped and rarely cleaned, so infection spread rapidly.
• Florence Nightingale's discovery

  • 1854: she went to Crimea to care for wounded soldiers as a nurse.
  • She found conditions in the army hospitals were appalling and began to change them for the better.
  • Patients were separated according to their illness.
  • Beds were spaced apart and clean air was allowed to circulate.
  • Patients were washed and bedding was changed regularly.
  • In six months she managed to reduce the death rate significantly.
  • To soldiers she was known as the 'Lady with the Lamp'. In 1859, she published a book, Notes for Nursing, which was a bestseller.
• Florence Nightingale laid the foundations for... (after)

  • Press coverage in Britain made Nightingale famous and highlighted the need for hospital reform.
  • 1856: Nightingale set about transforming nursing.
  • nurses were trained to be an essential part of patient care. She set up the first training school at St Thomas' Hospital in London, putting into practice the ideas she had developed in Crimea.
  • she said hospitals should have fresh air, light, warmth, cleanliness, quiet and the administration of diets.