Public Health

WHY WAS THERE A NEED FOR PUBLIC HEALTH?

• pressure came from local authorities
• disease was not a respector of person, it killed anyone
• there were several epidemics and pandemics with countless diseases at this time
• there was severe lacking in medical knowledge; people thought disease came from punishment from God or miasma
• cities and towns were filthy, people lived amongst farm animals, dirt was everywhere, people lived in close proximities with each other
• with no public health, dirt, smell, disease, unsanitation would always remain

POPULATION:

• overcrowding because increasingly common
• in 1801 the population of people living in towns was around 33%, this rose to 72% by 1891
• in the 1820s, Bristol's population grew by 70%
• one million migrants settled in London in the 1840s making everything strained
• birth rates overtook the number of death rates
• however, in Manchester, 57% of babies died before their 5th birthday

HOUSING:

• poor housing was always an issue, ever since the medieval times and beyond where people lived in slums
• cellars and attics were filled with working people and their families
• 10,000 woolcombers were living and working…