Medicine Through Time

-Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree

- Industrialist and philanthropist.

- Carried out his own survey of york. These were later publised in a book 'Poverty, a study of Town life.

- His studies showed that almost 29% of people in york were living in poverty. This helped show others the problem.

- Became good friends with David Lloyd George and thus influenced the Liberal partys reforms.

-Reforms of the Liberal government

- Provision of school Meals Act, 1906

- School Medical Services Act

- Old Age Pensions Act, 1908  

- Workmens Compensation Act, 1906 (part 2, 1911)

- Natioal Insurance Act, 1911

- Labour Exchanges Act, 1909

-The weaknesses of the lberals' social reforms

- Free school meals were not compulsory so many councils did not provide them.

- Old age pensions only applied to those that had worked.

- Labor exchanged did not create jobs so the problem of unemployment persisted.

- Under the national insurance act health care was only available to the wage earner.

- Contributions to the National Insurance Scheme was relatively high for the poor.

- Benefits were often not enough for families to live on.

- The Conservative and Labour partys were both rising in popularity and the Liberal party did not so it lost support.

-Charles Booth

- A philanthropist that was critical of statistics involving poverty.

- He carried out a survay of east London andfound that almost 35% of people lived in poverty. This was a full 10%                  above what the socialist party leader had said.   

- His reserch was published in  1889 but he continued to resewrch the conditions of poverty until 1903.

- One of his proposals was that of old age pensions.

-William Beveridge

- Econamist and expert on unemployment benefits

- Proposed that workers should pay national insurance so that the poor could receive benefits.

- His proposals eventualy led to the introduction of the welfare state and the national health service

- 1944

- Doctors thought that they may lose their freedom to charge as they become government employees.

- Some local councils and charities objected to the government taking over hospitals.

- Some thought poverty and sickness were a result of idleness therefore was the fault of the individual and they should not have to pay for other peoples wellfare

BENEFITS OF THE NHS

- Free treatment for ALL patients

- National ownership of hospitals

- Drs paid by gvt and could also charge for private work

As a result, life expextancy in UK improved

LIMITATIONS OF THE NHS

- NHS under pressure due to longer life expectancy caused by better healthcare!

- Some services still chargeable - eg Adult dental work

- Some services oversubscribed - eg Cancer treatments

- Services prioritised by each NHS trust based on evidence and good use of taxpayers' funding

- Some services not available countrywide - the 'Postcode Lottery' - IVF

- Industrialist & philanthropist (Eg Bingham in Ciren)

- Carried out own survey in York regarding welfare, poverty etc

- 29% in poverty in York almost exactly same result as Booth's study in London

- Close friends with David Lloyd-George therefore influenced liberal reforms