Impact of the two World Wars

Impact of the two World Wars

1. WWI

   • Blood storage
     • 1914
     • Albert Hustin
     • Found way to stop blood clotting
     • Could be stored and stockpiled
   • Skin Grafts
     • Harold Gillies
       • Army doctor
     • Invented and improved techniques to fix severe facial wounds of soldiers
     • Catalyst for today's plastic surgery
     • 1917
       • Queen's Hospital Kent opened, provided over 1000 beds by 1921
   • Prosthetic limbs
     • Between 1914 and 1921, 40,000 British men lost limbs
     • Use of light metal alloys
     • Long waiting lists
     • Training to use
   • Broken Bones
     • 'Army Leg Splint' developed
     • Still in use today
   • Wound infections (e.g. gangrene)
     • Infected flesh cut away and wound soaked in saline solution
     • As short-term solution in battle situation, saved many lives
       • Not ideal
   • Mental Strain
     • Start - Army refused to believe shell shock existed and treated men as cowards
     • Shell shock was officially recognised by the end (now known as PTSD)
       • Big step forward in mental illness awareness
   • X-rays
     • 1895 but hadn't reached full potential
       • Afterwards, they were frequently used in hospitals
     • Used to locate shrapnel without having to cut open

2. WWII

   • Poverty
     • Evacuation from cities to the country highlighted the unhealthy city lifestyle
     • Showed the government that they had to improve after the war
   • Drug Development
     • Penicillin, the first antibiotic
     • Speeded up by the necessity for wounded soldiers
     • Government funded the mass production
   • NHS
     • 1942 it was proposed as a way to organise healthcare
     • Began in 1946
     • Based on equality between male and female doctors
   • Hygiene and Disease
     • Government wanted to keep the nation 'fighting fit'
     • Posters were produced to raise awareness and encourage people to be cautious
     • National immunisation against diphtheria was implemented
   • Heart Surgery
     • Very early surgery
     • Helped to learn more about the heart
     • The findings helped heart surgery greatly after the war
     • American Army Surgeon, Dwight Harken
   • Diet
     • Shortages meant people were encouraged to grow their own
     • Improved diet because they ate more fresh fruit and veg
   • Plastic Surgery
     • Use of new drugs such as penicillin to prevent infection with skin grafts
     • Archibald McIndoe
     • Building on WWI advancement
   • Blood Transfusions
     • Advancement from WWI meant blood could be kept fresh and usable longer
     • Led to British National Transfusion Service (1938) where civilians could donate blood to a blood bank