The Development of the Welfare State with Emphase Health Service - Essay Example

? The development of the welfare with emphasis on the National Health Service Introduction Welfare is the idea that the government plays a central part in economic and social life of its people by protecting and promoting the well being of its citizens. The basis of this idea is equity. It is believed that the government would ensure equitable distribution of its resources and income among its citizens. The government also plays an important role in providing the basic needs to those individuals who are unable to provide for themselves. It is therefore important to note that the government generally ensures its citizens are protected and leads a good life. It is also important to note that the development of the welfare state was very important since it did not only provide relief to the people who were suffering from different illness in terms of provision of cheaper healthcare but also improved the living standards in general. However, before the development of the welfare state, conditions of living was very poor especially healthcare and the life expectancy was very low. Life in the Victorian era During the Victorian time, the young were very much at risk. It is important to note that during this time the young especially the infants and children below the age of 14 recorded the highest deaths. Children suffered from a variety of infectious diseases which included; diarrhea, small pox, measles, whooping cough as well as croup which was very difficult to treat (Heath and White, 2000 p.18). It is also important to note that the government didn’t take a major role in the provision of healthcare. Among the diseases listed above, measles emerged as one of the most dangerous diseases to the children claiming up to fifty percent of the total deaths caused by the diseases. It was also evident that the fatality rate decreases with the increasing age and hence it was easy for an adult to survive than for a young individual. In this context, the survival rate was low and hence mothers gave birth to many children as an attempt to ensure that when others die, others finally remain and hence they increase their chances of having at least some children. This condition was very bad in the rural areas with fever being the worst disease that affected children. They believed that fever was not treatable and if a child suffering from fever survived, it is only by chance but chances were limited (Heath and White, 2000 p.18). Even though there was subsequent increase in immunity with the increasing age, other factors that were detrimental to health came into play. It was evident that the people at the work place were not taken care of well especially with regard to occupational safety (Heath and White, 2000 p.20). It is therefore important to note that the older individuals were not spared either because of the susceptibility to other diseases and infections from the environment which was not well protected. People were subjected to dusts during work since there was no legislation to guide and protect the people against these factors. Accidents were increasing from the improper use of machines and exposure to dangerous chemicals and other unsafe gases and equipment. All these increased the susceptibility of the older people to diseases and other infections and hence death was also high among the adults. However, it is important to note tat it was not comparable to the children. During the period commencing the year 1838, the condition began to improve due to the improved healthcare and hence the death rate reduced at a great deal (Heath and White, 2000 p.25). There was also improved diet and sanitation and hence the living standards were taken to a new level. Better medical care resulted into the reduction in the death rates for people over the ages of fourteen and the level of occupational risks were also reducing as well. However, it is important to note that even after the improvements were affected, the poor were not benefiting and hence the level of deaths were not reduced much because the majority also lived within the rural areas where the living standards had not improved much. It was also evident that the poor could weigh the chances of cure with the cost of treatment before taking any medication (Heath and White, 2000 p.19). As a result, the seriously sick individuals were not taken to the hospitals for treatment and only those who were a little bit better were taken to the hospital because it was perceived that they stood a better chance of surviving. During this time, the cost of medicine was also very high and hence most people especially those in the rural areas preferred using those medicines that had been tried and tested within the family and other individuals who had treated their loved ones. They also had certain experienced women who offered advices on the best herbs to use for certain illness. The worst part of this was that the individuals who did all these had no medication knowledge. It is important to not this was of high danger as those individuals did not have the knowledge of prescription and hence they were likely to give an overdose or less doses. As a result these led to other deaths that were not expected to occur. It is therefore important to realize that ignorance and lack of basic skills were also instrumental with regard to the healthcare problems. Over a very long period of time, individual mothers especially those at childbirth depended solemnly on the knowledge of their fellow mothers whom they described as being experienced in medicine (Heath and White, 2000 p.21). They offered all medical care including the processes of childbirth. It was however very dangerous for the mothers because the children were exposed to adverse health condition which increased their susceptibility to infectious diseases. It is important to note that the infectious diseases were on the rise because of the environmental problems. During this time, the waste management processes were very poor and hence the possibility of contamination was very high. This increased infectious diseases. Most diseases that the people suffered from during this time were mainly associated to the poor environmental management system which exposed germs to the living environments as well as food (Heath and White, 2000 p.19). The rate of contamination was high since human wastes were not disposed properly. Conditions of the hospitals During the early days, Victorian hospitals were viewed as gateways to deaths rather than avenues for seeking treatments. It is important to note that the hospitals were overcrowded with many individuals suffering from different disease. This overcrowding led to the passing of diseases from one patient to the other and hence deaths were at the peak (Diekelman, 2003 p.83). Performances of surgery were done without anesthesia which places the medical practitioner at a higher risk of contacting dangerous infections. However, the wealthy had money and hired doctors to treat them at their homes while the poor overcrowded at the hospitals with no enough doctors. It is important to note that the hospitals looked like charities and were controlled or run by local authorities in some instances. In this context, the hospitals were very few and hence contributed to the problems of overcrowding and infection from one individual to the other. By the year 1850s, the hospital environments served as the place for the spread of communicable diseases rather than a place to seek treatment for infections (Diekelman, 2003 p.85). During this time, it was believed that the foul smell caused the diseases and other infections, however, it was later discovered that the diseases were caused by germs. Due to the overcrowding in the hospitals, the wards were mainly constructed in small rooms since the people believed that by doing that, the spread of diseases would be minimized or reduced to the manageable levels. However, this resulted into further overcrowding within the hospitals which led to the spread of the diseases at a higher rate unlike before. Patients had no enough space within the wards and hence contamination of the air, lack of proper sanitation within the hospitals and the inability of the doctors to attend to all individuals contributed a lot to the poor health of the individuals (Diekelman, 2003 p.83). It is also important to note that even though little surgeries were done; only very few ones were successful and hence the doctors were also becoming killers with regard to the perception of the community. With few, doctors, congested hospital environment as well as lack of surgery facilities led to the doctors killing many of those individual who were taken through surgery. Mothers lost their children as well as their lives while other people lost some those whom they love or took care of them. In this context, the vicious cycle of poverty continued since parents died at very tender ages leaving their children and other dependants to struggle and make ends meet. The cycle of poverty therefore continued throughout generation to generation since the life expectancy was very low. It is also important to note that the ability of individuals to survive when they were taken to the hospitals was very low; as a result, the people lost trust in the hospitals and hence declined taking their loved ones to the hospitals in many occasions. Generally, the conditions at the hospitals were very poor with Surgery being the worst of all the processes that were done. During this period, most surgeries were not successful; however, among those that were successful, they were done under very extreme pains which the patients went through. This was because of lack of anesthesia to kill the pain before the process could be completed. However, by the end of 1858, there were several changes that began to emerge. Most of the changes were necessitated by the needs of the people who were overwhelming to the new facilities available (Diekelman, 2003 p.85). It is important to note that the advances in technology, research and development took the course and were mainly directed to solve the short term problems of the people. The first development was on the discovery of the antiseptics. The antiseptics were very important since it assisted the problem of contamination and the communicable diseases. It was now easier to manage germs and other threats that would result into diseases or infections. Sanitation was restored with the antiseptics that were used to disinfect most apparatus against germs. The Medical Act also played an important role in the development of the register of qualified doctors who were now given the authority to practice. Other developments then followed with the passing of several legislations that were not only aimed at solving the problems at the hospitals but also other aspects such as sanitation, public health, waste management, as well as education and empowerment which was useful in restoring public confidence in the hospitals and medication processes. National Health Service The National Health Service refers to the healthcare system that is mainly funded by the government. This term is used in many states in the United Kingdom but is commonly used in England since that is where it was founded. In this system, the government plays a vital role in ensuring that the well being of its citizens is taken care of with regard to the health services that they need. The government understands that the basic health of individuals have to be provided for such that those who are not capable of paying for their medical services are assisted by the government. In the United Kingdom, it was formed in the year 1948 and has been very instrumental in saving many lives. It is important to note that while this healthcare system works differently from other states, it is possible to transfer patients from one state to another to seek further treatments. This Act also resulted into the development of more hospitals and medical facilities in the other regions in which they had not been accessed before or the regions in which the individuals did not have enough finances to pay for the medical services fully. During the founding of this health policy back in the year July 5, 1948, in England it had specific objectives and focus (Carrier and Kendall, 1998 p.219). The major objective of the National Health Service was to provide health services to all individuals irrespective of the amount of money that you are capable of paying. During the time of its launch by the then minister in charge of the health, Bevan Aneurin, it had three clearly outlined four principles. The policy was to be based on the needs but not the ability of an individual to pay for the services, the needs of all those who need medical services and that the services were supposed to be free of charge to all. It is important to note that over a long period of time now, these three principals have resulted into the development of the national health services. Several changes have also been done to the national health services and hence it has been possible to alter some of the clauses so as to improve the system and hence cater for the ever changing needs of the people. This has resulted into the provision of services that are comprehensive and hence cater for the long term as well as short term needs of the citizens. The government is able to budget in the national budget the requirements of its people. For example, during the year 2000, this Act was amended and the new principles added after being used for almost a century. It is important to note that most of these changes were necessitated by the demands for improved services, emergence of new diseases and the changes in the economy as well as technology. In view of the above principles, there was improved medication as well as facilities in the hospitals. There was also increased number of hospitals and most of which had very good facilities and doctors to take care of the patients. As a result of this, individual patients gained confidence with the hospitals since the hospital picture that they had perceived in their minds had already been altered. The survival rates increased and most people begun visiting hospitals in large numbers and coming out alive. It is important to note that even the poor who had perceived the hospitals in a different way changed their minds because of the reduced costs of medication. Unlike before, the poor could not afford the otherwise expensive surgical process and survive. There was a change of attitude towards the healthcare since the services were improved with services being offered to all for free. Moreover, the hospitals which the rich attended are the same hospitals that the poor were also treated. This resulted into the poor’s increased trust in the hospitals because they could see the rich who hired doctors to treat them in their homes go to those hospitals. Another important thing is that the death rates had dropped drastically and the number of individuals who survived from the hospitals was high. The structures of the hospitals had improved as well and congestion was a thing of the past. All these resulted into the restoration of people’s confidence and changed attitude towards the hospitals. References Carrier, John and Kendall, Lan. 1998. “Health and national health service.” London: The Athlone Press. Diekelman, Nancy. 2003. “First, do no harm: Power, oppression, and Violence in healthcare.” Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. Heath, Hazel and White, Isabel. 2000. “The change of sexuality in health care.” London: Blackwell Science Limited. Read More