Government & Public Health Since c.1900 (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Note

Summary

The government has played an increasing role in public health since 1900. The Liberal Reforms and the foundation of the NHS improved people's access to healthcare. Air quality in Britain was so bad by the 1950s that it was becoming difficult to both breathe and travel in cities. As a result, the government introduced laws to create smoke-free zones. Other forms of pollution were also tackled and the Environment Agency was set up to enforce new anti-pollution laws.

The government also made more efforts to influence people's lifestyles during the 20th century. This has involved trying to get people to smoke less and drink less alcohol. Other strategies have been used to encourage people to eat healthier and take more exercise.

Liberal Reforms

• At the start of the 20th century, the Liberal Party was in government and introduced several measures intended to improve the health of the nation

  • These became known as the Liberal Reforms

The NHS

• Although the Liberal Reforms were a great improvement, they still left most women, nearly all children and the long-term unemployed without access to medical care

• That changed after the Labour Party won the 1945 general election

  • They promised to provide a National Health Service

  • This would provide medical care to everybody in Britain and would be 'free at the point of delivery'

  • It was paid for through taxes

• The NHS was enormously popular when it was launched in 1948 and remains so today

  • In the first year of the NHS, 8 million people in Britain saw a doctor for the first time in their lives

Pollution controls

• Environmental pollution and the dangers it posed to health became a major concern during the second half of the 20th century

• Over the decades, the government introduced many laws and measures to reduce and prevent pollution

Anti-smoking initiatives

• Lung cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the UK

  • It is estimated that 90 per cent of cases are caused by smoking tobacco

• Smoking was incredibly popular in the UK during the first half of the 20th century

  • In 1950, around 80 per cent of all adult males smoked

  • By 2010, the figure was down to less than 20 per cent

• Several factors led to this reduction:

Promotion of healthy lifestyles

• The link between people's lifestyles and their health and life expectancy became increasingly clear in the 20th century

  • As well as trying to persuade people not to smoke, the government also tried to influence what they ate and drank

  • Government campaigns such as 'Fit 4 Life' encouraged people to exercise

  • The '5-a-day' campaign was launched by the Department of Health in 2003 to encourage people to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day

• All alcoholic drinks in the UK now display information about the amount of units they contain

  • They also display the number of units that the UK Chief Medical Officers recommend people should consume in a week