The London poor and their medical needs / by Conrad W. Thies.

  • Thies, Conrad W.
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The London poor and their medical needs / by Conrad W. Thies. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    There never was a period in our history when more universal interest was manifested in the condition of our poorer neighbours than during the past few years. This general awakening of the public conscience to its social responsibilities has been the result of a combination of causes to which I need not now refer, and it has been shown in various ways. We have had elaborate reports by Royal Commissions, by philanthropic and religious societies, and on every hand we find that efforts are being made to brighten the lives of the poor, and to ameliorate the distress and suffering which is inseparable from extreme poverty. One effect of this revival of interest in social questions has been the opening up of fresh channels for the public benevo¬ lence, and there is a danger lest the medical charities should be neglected, or, at least, not receive their due share of public support. I find, for instance, that in the last edition of Howe’s “ Directory of the Metropolitan Charities ” it is estimated that the total income of 9S0 charitable institutions in London for the year 1891 was £6,246,136, of which sum about one-half was absorbed by missionary societies, while the voluntary medical charities received about £630,000. This state of affairs has certainly not resulted from any lack of enterprise on the part of the medical charities, for the public generally, and philanthropic persons in particular, are persistently deluged with appeals on their behalf, until, by their very very frequency, even the most importunate and smartly, written presentment of the case for the hospitals meets with comparatively little response. We had a notable illustration of this fact during the past year, when “ Suffering London ” was published, and special efforts were put forth to stimulate the public interest in our medical charities. I thought at the time that probably a statement of the simple facts would have proved more effective in enlisting the sympathies and opening the purse strings of the well-to-do classes. I have since endeavoured to ascertain what is really known as to the actual conditions under which the poor live, and then, furnished with this information, to consider whether the provision made for their medical needs is really excessive. Before referring to the result of my inquiries, I would ask your attention to a few facts respecting London. Very few persons, even of those who have for many years resided in the metropolis, realise what London really means, or the magnitude of the problems arising out of the enormous aggre¬ gation of people which make up the metropolitan popu¬ lation. It must be borne in mind that the area covered by the Greater London is much larger than that comprised in
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