Story told of a doctor who would move TB patients out to the country for fresh air.

The ones that wouldn't go would die.

Those that would, would recover.

Armies would die in the field. Not from the battles, from the sickness.

Again, drs improved the food. Did nothing.

Chadwick stepped in, wrote letters to those in charge (familiar?) and got air improved.

The armies were saved, and returned in better health than they left.

"Replacing the foul infected air round the sick"

"By dilution in the boundless external atmosphere"

In the words of Miss Nightingale (also air advocate), "fresh air are the only protection which a nurse requires.

By the way, Chadwick championed Nightingale and encouraged her to write her book, "On Nursing", I believe.*

(*they were all reasonably well to do, but let's leave that issue for another day)

Focussing on things that did not matter were a huge sidetrack.

Again, sound familiar?

I'm talking to you: face shields, plexiglas, and surface disinfection.

--- originally posted May 2021

Chadwick actually found working class was dying earlier, generally. Not just water.

To encourage gov to do anything at all, he argued poor conditions were causing them to work less productively.

Nothing.
Ever.
Changes.

--- Dec 2021:

Public health used to be a progressive field concerned with health, not this talking head garbage we get on TV and Twitter.

Thread https://nitter.net/PChildermass/status/1474721442604404741?s=20

As I said it was early 1800s in the UK, when a lawyer (Chadwick) noticed that all the workers were dying. He convinced the ruling class (who didn't want to spend any money, of course) that heck, you'd get more labour out of them if they didn't KEEP dying.

Boom, boards of health.