1834- The Poor Law In 1834, Parliament decided to pass the Poor Law Amendment. This was due to the shared views that too much money was spent on the poor. Instead, Poor people were transferred to a workhouse which provided them with shelter and a basic diet of soup and bread. Families were split up, and men and women were segregated from one another. In return for this, they were expected to do a certain amount of labour work a day.
1842- The Sanitary Conditions In 1842, a report was written and published by Edwin Chadwick, secretary to the Poor Law Commission. It informed people what the poor were already aware of. It was able to highlight how dirty the streets were and how it was mostly connected to disease. It reported on the fact that the average life span was decreasing as people were dying younger, and it also showed how the poor were getting sicker. Because it showed a better understanding that filth and disease are in fact linked to each other, Chadwick was able to come to a conclusion that these diseases are preventable.
1846- Miasma Theory Edwin Chadwick came up with the theory that disease was spread by air and pollution and this is the causation for the spread of existing diseases such as cholera. His words were: “All smell is, if it be intense, immediate acute disease; and eventually we may say that, by depressing the system and rendering it susceptible to the action of other causes, all smell is disease.”
1848- First National Public Health Act
1848 Public Health Act meant The Central Board of Health was set up. Medical officers were appointed by local boards as an attempt to improve the general health and safety. One of the ways they improved this was by providing sewers, as well as water supplies and drainage being checked and cleaned. People’s houses and food were also checked.
1853- Vaccination Act
The Vaccination Act 1853 meant that parents and guardians were forced to arrange the vaccination of infants within four months of birth. It was not the law but because it was something recommended by the 1860’s, two thirds of babies born were vaccinated.
1854- Broad Street Pump
The Broad Street Pump the reason for the second outbreak of cholera. This was due to the fact that a woman disposed of her nappy, resulting in the dirty water leaking into the pump. Because of this, anyone who unknowingly drank from the pump fell ill with cholera. After people discovering the reasoning behind this, it then managed to dismiss Chadwick’s miasma theory and instead was able to support a completely different theory. This all then managed to educate people on the way in which diseases are able to spread.
1858- Revised public Health Act
The revised public health abolished the Central Board of Health and created local boards responsible for preventative action and improvement.
1866- Sanitary Act
This allowed local authorities the power to provide water supplies, It also allowed them the right to explore and regulate communicable diseases in a way that