BeneficenceIn the 18th century, there were great improvements in surgery, midwifery and hygiene. In London between 1720 and 1745, Guys, Westminster, St Georges, the London and Middlesex general hospitals were all founded. Other hospitals were established in Exeter (1741), Bristol (1733), Liverpool (1745) and York (1740). In the course of 125 years after 1700, at least 154 new hospitals and dispensaries were founded in towns across Britain. These were not municipal undertakings; they were benevolent efforts that relied on voluntary contributions and bequests. It worked well for 250 years prior to the creation of the NHS in 1948.The first medical school in England was the London Hospital medical college founded in 1785. The teaching and practice of medicine and surgery were improving, but treatments remained limited, encouraging medical fakers with homemade remedies. There was minimal knowledge of the disease process, and diagnosis remained poor, so the same medication was given regardless of the ailment. The most popular treatment was laudanum, a mixture of an opiate-based drug and alcohol, prescribed for pain relief and common ailments such as headaches and diarrhoea. Unfortunately some people became dependent on it and died from overdoses.Anaesthetics (chloroform and ether) were not used to relieve pain in surgery until 1847. Suturing of wounds was common practice, though needles and thread were not sterile, so infection was rife. Hygiene and infection control remained non-existent until the 1870s, when Louis Pasteurs germ theory of disease had become widely accepted. A Scottish surgeon named Joseph Lister atomized carbolic acid (phenol) for use as an anti- septic, leading to a major decline in blood poisoning following surgery, which had normally proved fatal. The hygiene and nursing practices of Florence Nightingale were adopted by hospitals and led to a reduction in cross-infection and an improvement in recovery rates.
Question: Operations prior to 1847 were carried out without any pain relief.
Options:
A. true, B. false, C. uncertain
Answer: B