Title page from the Webbs’ book.
Sidney and Beatrice Webb were pioneer social researchers in England at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. They published indefatigably, both together and separately, to create an impressive historical and analytical body of material, including multiple volumes on English legal history, the poor law, and modern sociological topics.
In 1910, before the establishment of the National Health Service, the Webbs published The State and the Doctor as a survey of the current status of medicine, public health, and state legislation in the UK. This was almost 50 years before Aneurin Bevan proposed the creation of the National Health Service after World War II.
The Webbs begin their volume with a lengthy exploration of the past treatment of the sick, drawing on their extensive research into the history of the English poor laws. The poor laws — the body of legislation responsible for care of the indigent, ailing, and poverty-stricken inhabitants of England — had undergone substantial revision in 1834. Lesser revisions followed, but the 1834 law was notorious for creating harsher conditions for the poor and tougher requirements to meet in order to receive relief.
The Webbs spend almost half their book in this historical review and then, as was their style in other volumes, divide their topic into sections: the treatment of the sick by voluntary agencies and by public health services. Those interested in the current debate in the UK over the future of the National Health Service may find the book of particular interest.
As always, for more from the Medical Heritage Library, please visit our full collection!