The twentieth century saw the transformation of surgery into a truly modern ‘scientific’ profession. In Britain at least, it also saw what had been a either a private, fee-paying, or charitable practice transformed into a function of the state-funded and organised National Health Service (NHS). This film demonstrates the impact of the NHS on the emotional lives of surgeons, and explores the ways in which old stereotypes have persisted, and new ones created, by the unique demands of universal healthcare. With Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster and Dr Michael Brown.
The Twentieth-Century Surgeon from Lily Ford on Vimeo.
Image: William Watson Cheyne, Antiseptic Surgery, 1882 (Creative Commons).
