MODERN PUBLIC HEALTH | 19th C Public Health Acts
The first step of 19th C public health was the 1848 Public Health Act which began to change attitudes towards cleanliness and health. It was a reaction to the 1848 Cholera outbreak. Only 182 towns adopted the Act, too many rich refused to pay to clean up the poor and dirty parts of their towns.
After the initial failure, in 1872 the Government tried again. A London Board of Health would oversee from London what happened in each town. If 10% of ratepayers (local taxpayers) agreed then they could adopt the Act and then improve water supply and sewage disposal.
The Act was not compulsory, and not all places put it into action.
Why did the Government decide to act in 1872?
- 1854: Snow conclusively proved the link between dirty water and cholera.
- 1858: Sir John Simon became the government’s first medical officer and wanted to combine prevention with cure.
- Pasteur proved that germs caused disease. So germs had to be avoided.
- 1866: Major Cholera epidemic made clear to all the Government had not acted effectively with the 1848 Act.
- 1867: Reform Act gave all working class men the vote fir the first time. They chose the Government. Top of their agenda was cleaning up towns, and so the Government had to act decisively.
The 1872 Public Health Act was followed three years later by the 1875 Public Health Act which ordered Councils to make clean water available also street lamps, drainage and sewerage. They also had to employ a Medical Officer to investigate deaths. The same year the Artisans’ Dwellings Act was also passed giving councils the power to buy up slums, knock them down easily and rebuild proper housing.
LINKS | 19th C Industrial Revolution: Public Health | Chadwick | Public Health Acts | Snow & Cholera |
LINKS | 20th C: Philanthropists | Wartime | The Liberals | The NHS | Bevan | Beveridge | Anatomy | Surgery |