healthcare provision

public healthcare provisions 1918-45

1918:

• Wealth = health, high quality healthcare was only accessed through private doctors

  • Lack of organisaiton and provision in less affluent areas

  • Reliance on workhouses

  • ‘Friendly societies’ — cheap health insurance

  • Charities — child welfare

• National health insurance 1911

• Fabian society promoted reorganisation of healthcare and pressured government on laissez faire

• Spanish flu (220,000 killed in Britain) and Gilles facial treatment highlighted need for gov to pay for healthcare

Ministry of health 1919:

• WW1 lead to expansion of gov role in healthcare

• Coordinated health at a regional level and administered national health insurance funds

Tuberculosis act 1921:

• Gov set up TB sanatoria to slow spread pre-WW1

• Ministry of health act created MRC in order to research the cause of TB, publicly funded but not under gov control

• TB act made TB sanatoria compulsory by local authorities

• Cases begin to decline every year from 1920-38

Local gov health act 1929:

• Made responsibility of poor law hospitals county-controlled

• Law infirmities turned into public hospitals

• Local authorities made responsible for venereal disease clinics, child welfare, dentistry and school medical services and meals

• Single health authority created to control healthcare in counties

• Didn’t lead to cheap, modern healthcare

Pioneer health centre/’peckham experiment’ 1935:

• Local residents (950) paid 5p a week to receive annual health check up and access to leisure facilitie