‘The work of Florence Nightingale was the most important development in the care and
treatment provided in hospitals c.1700-c.1900’
How far do you agree? Explain your answer [16 marks + 4 SPaG]
I agree somewhat with the statement ‘The work of Florence Nightingale was the most
important development in the care and treatment provided in hospitals c.1700 – c.1900’ as
her work on improving sanitary conditions and reducing the mortality rate from infection
was highly important, however, other key developments occurred in this time period, such
as James Simpson’s advancements using chloroform as an anaesthetic and the
improvements made to having aseptic conditions during surgery which came about due to
Pasteur’ spublishing of his Germ Theory in 1861, which I also consider to be important
developments. Therefore, I agree with the statement that Florence Nightingale’s work was
important, however, I disagree that it was the most important development in the period
c.1700 – c.1900.
Florence Nightingale advocated for hospitals to improve ventilation, have larger rooms and
to separate patients into wards to prevent contagious disease spreading. Hospitals’
cleanliness was also greatly improved. She changed nursing into a profession rather than an
unskilled job, causing the number of nurses to rapidly increase. This also marked the point
that hospitals became a place for the ill to be cared for and treated professionally. Her work
was highly influential for future designs of hospitals and for the profession of nursing.
In this period there were advancements made in the use of and understanding of aseptic
surgical conditions. Joseph Lister related Pasteur’s Germ Theory to surgery. He sprayed
carbolic acid on wounds to sanitise them. However, this was not very popular as it was not
scientifically proven to be effective. His ideas about antiseptics and aseptic surgical
conditions eventually became popular. This represents the beginning of the path to modern
day surgical conditions and knowledge of the causes of infection and how to prevent it. This
was an important development in the care and treatment provided in hospitals c.1700 –
c.1900 as it reduced infection rates from surgery and led to modern antiseptics.
The developments made in anaesthetics was an important development in the care and
treatment provided in hospitals c.1700 – c.1900. James Simpson discovered that chloroform
was an effective anaesthetic in 1847 and used it to alleviate the pain of childbirth. Queen
Victoria used it in 1853, boosting its popularity and stemming the moral and religious
arguments against its use. More complex surgeries became possible, however, the longer
the surgery the greater the risk of bleeding and infection. Some doctors believed that the
patient being unconscious increases the risk of death and did not want to accept
responsibility for the infection that killed their patient. James Simpson’s work inspired
modern day anaesthetics and was a key development in the care and treatment provided in
hospitals in the year c.1700 – c.1900.
Therefore, the work of Florence Nightingale was an important development, but not the
most important development in the care and treatment provided in hospitals in the years
c.1700 – c.1900 as other developments such as aseptic surgical environments and
anaesthetics were also important developments in this period.
treatment provided in hospitals c.1700-c.1900’
How far do you agree? Explain your answer [16 marks + 4 SPaG]
I agree somewhat with the statement ‘The work of Florence Nightingale was the most
important development in the care and treatment provided in hospitals c.1700 – c.1900’ as
her work on improving sanitary conditions and reducing the mortality rate from infection
was highly important, however, other key developments occurred in this time period, such
as James Simpson’s advancements using chloroform as an anaesthetic and the
improvements made to having aseptic conditions during surgery which came about due to
Pasteur’ spublishing of his Germ Theory in 1861, which I also consider to be important
developments. Therefore, I agree with the statement that Florence Nightingale’s work was
important, however, I disagree that it was the most important development in the period
c.1700 – c.1900.
Florence Nightingale advocated for hospitals to improve ventilation, have larger rooms and
to separate patients into wards to prevent contagious disease spreading. Hospitals’
cleanliness was also greatly improved. She changed nursing into a profession rather than an
unskilled job, causing the number of nurses to rapidly increase. This also marked the point
that hospitals became a place for the ill to be cared for and treated professionally. Her work
was highly influential for future designs of hospitals and for the profession of nursing.
In this period there were advancements made in the use of and understanding of aseptic
surgical conditions. Joseph Lister related Pasteur’s Germ Theory to surgery. He sprayed
carbolic acid on wounds to sanitise them. However, this was not very popular as it was not
scientifically proven to be effective. His ideas about antiseptics and aseptic surgical
conditions eventually became popular. This represents the beginning of the path to modern
day surgical conditions and knowledge of the causes of infection and how to prevent it. This
was an important development in the care and treatment provided in hospitals c.1700 –
c.1900 as it reduced infection rates from surgery and led to modern antiseptics.
The developments made in anaesthetics was an important development in the care and
treatment provided in hospitals c.1700 – c.1900. James Simpson discovered that chloroform
was an effective anaesthetic in 1847 and used it to alleviate the pain of childbirth. Queen
Victoria used it in 1853, boosting its popularity and stemming the moral and religious
arguments against its use. More complex surgeries became possible, however, the longer
the surgery the greater the risk of bleeding and infection. Some doctors believed that the
patient being unconscious increases the risk of death and did not want to accept
responsibility for the infection that killed their patient. James Simpson’s work inspired
modern day anaesthetics and was a key development in the care and treatment provided in
hospitals in the year c.1700 – c.1900.
Therefore, the work of Florence Nightingale was an important development, but not the
most important development in the care and treatment provided in hospitals in the years
c.1700 – c.1900 as other developments such as aseptic surgical environments and
anaesthetics were also important developments in this period.
