They focused on a lack of happiness in the workers lives. A decrease in the health of the average industrial laborer is probably the most notable issue raised by the Industrial Revolution. Public health reformer, Edwin Chadwick (Doc 6), wrote that The annual loss of life from filth and bad ventilation is greater than loss from &modern wars. Being a reformer, Chadwick may had been inclined to some degree to exaggerate, but because this excerpt was taken from a report it can be assumed that it is factual. If Chadwick did exaggerate and make the conditions sound even worse than they actually were, then his agenda was to persuade the government to change laws in order to improve health standards for factory workers and also to persuade workers to protest and become reformers.
This would affect people who were poor or had no income from working. During the nineteenth century the first national public health act was introduced in 1848. This act was made by Edwick Charwin who was convinced that if the health of the population was improved this would mean that we would have to spend less money on “poor relief”. This act made sure that there would be an improvement in drainage and provision of sewers, that rubbish would be removed from houses streets and roads, to provide people with clean drinking water and to have a medical officer for each town. This would affect everyone who lived in that particular town.
Changes in government leaders and results from reports carried out regarding the operation of the NHS are often the contributing factor to what changes have been made and why (Ham, 1995). Healthcare dates back to 1601 when the Poor law act was first introduced. The aim of this act was to provide relief for individuals who were in need of healthcare, food and clothing, this relief was provided by local parishes (http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html). In 1834 the Poor law act was updated and access to treatment was only available inside the workhouse which was very unattractive, many did not seek relief because of these conditions (Wood). Healthcare did not begin to improve until the 1929 Local Government health act which transferred workhouses and infirmaries to the local authorities with the intention to accommodate the sick and develop local authority hospitals.
Apart from the political turmoil, Candore was in the midst of a rare viral epidemic. Health authorities estimated that one percent of the population would be infected. ViroBlax is one of the drugs used in the treatment of this viral epidemic. Gentura was under severe pressure from the new government to produce ViroBlax at a subsidized price. This would cause a breach of the contract because subsidized production of ViroBlax violated the payment terms of the contract between Gentura and CadMex..
Overall I think the sources suggest that the biggest obstacle from public health was actually the fear of centralisation, as the sources provide evidence to suggest that, although cost may have been used as an excuse for a lack of progress, enough funds were available to introduce public health boards and create water systems- meaning there must have been a different reason other than cost stopping progress happening in each area, and centralisation is the reason the sources use most. A source which suggests that cost was the biggest obstacle is source 10, which is a speech from a tory mp who states that “I object to the establishment of a commission which would impose taxation”. This is a man from the government, who would have made the decision over whether bills like the public health act were passed, and he has given clear evidence that expenses were a big reason behind lack of progress, so it is very strong evidence for this argument. However, later in the source he reveals other obstacles for public health. Also, this man is a conservative mp, a traditionally wealthy party
The Old Poor Law of 1834 was reformed because it could not cope due to the large numbers of people claiming poor relief. This was due to population rise, commercialisation of farming which left people with no jobs, decline of agricultural crafts, harvest failures, food shortages due to war, higher food prices and change in attitude to claiming social welfare as there was no stigma attached to being poor anymore. This led to different measures such as the introduction of the Speenhamland system of 1795. Having investigated the reasons for the reformation of the Poor Law, we will now focus on the reasons that led to the reform. There were six main reasons that led to the old Poor Law Reform to easily pass which were: a willing government, Tories were a minority, Climate change, objectors were not listened to, and a Report based on evidence collected by the commission of enquiry.
Health epidemics forced early America to gravel with the question of the government’s role in the nation's health. The issues similar to today were based on who should be responsible for paying for preventive care, also should everyone get equal access, and if the financial responsibility for care should rest on the individual, state, or the
Sociologists propose a different cause. They examine patterns within society, and they seek social rather than biological answers and suggest that the differences in health and illness between different groups within society are influenced by social, economic, cultural and political factors. It is from these observations that sociologist believe that “being ill is not a simple thing”. The state of our health is very important to us, we spend a lot of time and money on trying to stay healthy, but what do we mean by “Health”? The World Health Organisation 1955 (WHO) describes heath as “Not the mere absence of disease but total physical, mental and social wellbeing”.
This will lead us into a case where, Pfizer failed to keep its commitment to corporate social responsibility as one of the most successful pharmaceutical companies, the choice they made to choose to bear unethical behavior in 1996. “Given the risks and costs of developing a new drug, pharmaceutical companies will jump at oppor- tunities to reduce them, and Pfizer thought it saw one” (Hill, pg 139, 2011). The case in point is the event that Pfizer gave its novel antibiotic “Trovan” to allegedly sick children without the consent of the parents when there was a serious outbreak of meningitis in Kano Nigeria. Pfizer’s choose the risk route and chose to ignore the children’s personal safety in testing. For personal gain and envious reason, this is was a violation of commercial ethics.
“Industrial Britain was hit by an outbreak of cholera in 1831-32, 1848-49, 1854 and 1867.” ("Diseases in industrial cities in the Industrial Revolution" 1). Commentary: The Industrial Revolution saw an outbreak of diseases, including cholera, which infected humans, livestock, and pets. Cholera was so prevalent and feared in Industrial Age Britain that it earned the nickname “King Cholera”. “The cause was simple – sewage was being allowed to come into contact with drinking water and contaminating it. As many people used river water as their source of drinking water, the disease spread with ease.” ("Diseases in industrial cities in the Industrial Revolution" 1).