{"product_id":"sickness-in-the-workhouse-alistair-ritch-9781580469753","title":"Sickness in the Workhouse: Poor Law Medical Care in Provincial England, 1834-1914","description":"Sickness in the Workhouse illuminates the role of workhouse medicine in caring for England's poor, bringing sick paupers from the margins of society and placing them centre stage. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEngland's New Poor Law (1834) transformed medical care in ways that have long been overlooked, or denigrated, by historians. Sickness in the Workhouse challenges these assumptions through a close examination of two urban workhouses in the west midlands from the passage of the New Poor Law until the outbreak of World War I. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e By closely analyzing the day-to-day practice of workhouse doctors and nurses, author Alistair Ritch questions the idea thatmedical care was invariably of poor quality and brought little benefit to patients. Medical staff in the workhouses labored under severe restraints and grappled with the immense health issues facing their patients. Sickness inthe Workhouse brings to life this hidden group of workhouse staff and highlights their significance within the local health economy. Among other things, as the author notes, workhouses needed to provide medical care for nonpaupers, such as institutional isolation facilities for those with infectious diseases. This groundbreaking book highlights these doctors and nurses in order to illuminate our understanding of this significant yet little understoodarea of poor law history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e ALISTAIR RITCH was consultant physician in geriatric medicine, City Hospital, Birmingham, and senior clinical lecturer, University of Birmingham, UK, and is currently honorary research fellow, History of Medicine Unit, University of Birmingham, UK.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alistair Ritch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1580469752\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781580469753\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Rochester Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.75d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2020","brand":"Alistair Ritch","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":45064671691007,"sku":"9781580469753","price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_85215fb1-36ec-4a92-b13b-ade9bbce5faa.jpg?v=1712124787","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/sickness-in-the-workhouse-alistair-ritch-9781580469753","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}