Lesson video

Hello, I'm Mr. Marchant, and I'll be your history teacher for today's lesson.

I'm really excited to have you joining me as we explore today's subject.

And my number one priority will be to help ensure that you can meet our lesson objective for today.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our Ed Excel unit on medicine in Britain and our AQA unit on health and people.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to assess the extent of change in modern approaches to medical treatment.

There are two key words which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

The first is automation, and the second is mainstream medicine.

Automation means to control something using machines and not people.

And mainstream medicine, in a modern context, refers to practises conducted by trained professionals based on scientific methods and evidence.

Today's lesson will be split into two parts, and will begin by focusing on the impact of technology.

Technological advancements during the 20th and 21st centuries have benefited modern medical treatments.

These advances have helped support the production and the delivery of various methods of treatment.

The development of antibiotics to cure infections caused by bacteria has been one of the most important improvements in modern treatment.

Technology has been important in this process, by helping to make medicines like antibiotics more widely available.

For instance, the manufacturing process for penicillin in modern factories relies on a large degree of automation and computerization.

This ensures that appropriate conditions are constantly maintained for penicillin's production.

As a result of these technologies, the production of penicillin has become much more efficient than it was in the 1940s, allowing greater quantities of the drug to be produced at more affordable prices.

In fact, over 10 million doses of penicillin were produced in England in 2023 alone.

Similarly, technological changes have also made it easier for people to take some medicines.

For instance, capsule medicines are preferred by many people to tablets, as they're easier to swallow.

These capsules dissolve in the stomach and release the medicine they contain after they are swallowed.

In the 1930s, the process for producing capsules was improved, so that they could be mass produced.

Once again, these improvements have ensured that capsules can be made widely available at lower prices.

So, thinking about what we've just heard, we have a statement on the screen which reads, "Automation has helped make it easier for people to take penicillin." But is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was true.

But we need to be able to justify our response.

So why is it that that original statement was correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said automation has helped to increase the amount of penicillin being produced and reduce costs, making it more available.

Advances in technology have also been used since 1900 to develop new methods of treatment for a wide range of health conditions.

For example, radiotherapy uses X-rays to target cancerous tumours growing inside the body, and to kill cancer cells.

This has proven to be an effective method of treatment, and has become particularly popular for treating tumours in the head or neck, where surgeries to remove them would be more complex.

Currently, over one quarter of cancer patients in the UK receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment.

Technology has also been used to help respond to the rise in heart diseases in modern Britain.

Since 1960, pacemakers have been available to patients in the UK with irregular heartbeats.

Pacemakers are implanted under the skin, and combat this problem by releasing electrical pulses to keep heartbeats regular.

Around 50,000 people are fitted with pacemakers in the UK each year.

So, let's make sure we have a secure understanding of that extra information.

We heard about the impact to technology.

What modern treatment uses x-rays to target cancerous tumours growing inside the body and kill cancer cells.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy uses X-rays to target cancerous tumours growing inside the body and kill cancer cells.

And when did pacemakers become available to patients in the UK? Was it 1900, 1930, or 1960? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, welcome to everybody who said that since 1960 pacemakers have been available to patients in the UK.

Let's try one more question.

What health condition are pacemakers used to treat? Is it broken bones, breast cancer, irregular heartbeats, or viral infections? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well then to everybody who said that C was the correct answer, pacemakers are used to help patients suffering from irregular heartbeats.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about the impact of technology into practise.

I want you to complete the table.

For each type of technology, and those are automation and computers, radiotherapy, and pacemakers, I want you to outline how it's being used to benefit modern treatment.

So pause the video here and press play when you are ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So, I ask you to complete the table by outlining how each of the types of technology have been used to benefit modern treatments.

And your answers may have included, for automation and computers, that it is used to make the mass production of medicines like penicillin, more efficient.

And it has made penicillin more available as more is produced at lower prices.

For radiotherapy, you may have said, X-rays are used to treat cancerous tumours, especially in the head and throat without the need for surgery.

And for pacemakers, you may have said that they're used to help those with irregular heartbeats.

They release an electrical pulse to ensure heartbeats stay regular.

So really well done if your own responses look something similar to those answers we can see on the screen.

And so now we're ready to move on to the second part of our lesson for today, where we are going to focus on alternative treatments.

Alternative treatments are also known as complimentary medicines.

These are practises which are not considered part of mainstream medicine.

Many people believe these practises can be effective, but they generally lack evidence or sufficient testing to prove this.

So, thinking about what we've just heard, I want you to change one word to correct the following sentence.

Mainstream treatments, also known as complimentary medicines, tend to lack consistent evidence to prove that they are effective.

So consider which word appears to be incorrect in that sentence and what should it be changed to.

Pause the video here and press play when you are ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the incorrect word was mainstream.

And that this should have been changed to alternative.

Alternative treatments, also known as complimentary medicines, tend to lack consistent evidence to prove that they are effective.

Herbal remedies are one example of an alternative treatment which has been in use during the modern period.

At the very start of the 20th century, before any antibiotics had been discovered, most of the medicine available to ordinary people came in the form of herbal remedies.

It was often claimed, falsely, that these herbal remedies could cure a wide range of health conditions.

For instance, Beecham's, a major producer of herbal remedies at the start of the 20th century, claimed that a single one of their medicines could cure issues ranging from stomach pains and headaches, to skin conditions, shortness of breath, and even scurvy.

In truth, whilst Beecham's did help with some digestive issues, it had no impact on the other issues the brand mentioned.

Herbal remedies continue to be sold and used as alternative treatments in the 21st century, despite the development of effective mainstream medicines such as antibiotics.

In part, this is due to the limits of what mainstream treatments can achieve.

For instance, there is no general cure for viruses like HIV, or the common cold.

Similarly, there are many mental health issues, such as depression, which cannot be cured with mainstream medicine.

These limitations have encouraged people to turn to alternative treatments, which they hope can help improve their health.

For instance, many places continue to sell St.

John's Wort as a herbal remedy, as it is claimed to help treat anxiety and depression.

However, despite these claims, recent scientific studies have failed to provide consistent proof that remedies like St.

John's Wort have the medical effects which they claim.

So let's check our understanding of everything that we've just heard.

To start us off, we have a statement which reads, "Herbal remedies have rarely been sold in the UK since the mid 20th century." But is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you are ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So why is it that that original statement was incorrect? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said, "Many herbal remedies such as St.

John's Wort are still commonly sold in high street stores in the 21st century." There are several other types of alternative treatment in use in modern Britain, including acupuncture and homoeopathy.

Acupuncture involves the use of needles which are inserted into certain parts of the body to help with pain relief.

Acupuncture originated in ancient China over 2,000 years ago and was first described in detail in "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine" around the year 100 BCE.

While Europeans had some knowledge of acupuncture through early missionary reports, it only gained significant popularity in Britain during the 1970s, at a time when diplomatic relations with China were being improved.

Traditionally, it was claimed that acupuncture released blocked energies within the body, and therefore helped to relieve pain.

More recently, doctors have suggested that acupuncture might help relieve pain by promoting the release of chemicals, called endorphins, within a body.

Although acupuncture is sometimes provided by the NHS, there is a lack of consistent evidence to prove its effectiveness.

Homoeopathy is also amongst the more popular alternative treatments still being practised in Britain today.

Indeed, homoeopathy even has support from high profile individuals, such as David Beckham and King Charles III.

Homoeopathy involves taking medicines which are intended to prompt similar symptoms to a patient's illness.

It is argued that this stimulates the body's natural defences, helping to overcome an illness.

However, whilst the NHS used to fund homoeopathy based treatments, it stopped doing so in 2017, as it reported a lack of evidence to show that homoeopathy was effective.

So, thinking about what we've just heard, which alternative treatment involves the use of needles for pain relief? Is it acupuncture, herbal remedies, or homoeopathy? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was A, acupuncture is an alternative treatment which involves the use of needles for pain relief.

And now I want you to identify one high profile supporter of homoeopathy in modern Britain.

Pause the video here and press play when you are ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done if your answer included one of the following examples.

David Beckham or King Charles III, both of whom are amongst many high profile supporters of homoeopathy in modern Britain.

So, we are now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about alternative treatments into practise.

We are going to split task B into two parts.

Firstly, I want you to explain why some historians might argue that medical treatment in the 21st century is far more advanced than it was in 1900.

Then I want you to explain why some historians might argue that medical treatment is not far more advanced in the 21st century than it was in 1900.

So, pause the video here and press play when you are ready to reflect on both of your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your efforts on that task.

So firstly, I asked you to explain why some historians might argue that medical treatment in the 21st century is far more advanced than it was in 1900.

And your answer may have included, "Some historians might argue that 21st century medical treatments are far more advanced than they were in 1900 because of the use of new technologies.

For instance, radiotherapy was introduced during the 20th century to help treat cancerous tumours in the body.

This has created an alternative to surgery to remove cancer cells from the body.

Technological developments have also benefited people with irregular heartbeats due to the development of pacemakers.

Whereas these weren't available in 1900, around 50,000 people are now fitted with pacemakers in the UK each year to ensure their heartbeats remain regular.

This shows that technology has helped provide new effective treatments for a wide range of health conditions." So well done if your own response to the first part of task B looks something similar to that model which we've just seen.

For the second part of task B, I ask you to explain why some historians might argue that medical treatment is not far more advanced in the 21st century than it was in 1900.

And your answer may have included, "Some historians might argue that 21st century medical treatments are not more advanced than they were in 1900 because some alternative treatments remain in use.

Just as herbal treatments like Beecham's were popular in 1900, some herbal remedies like St.

John's Wort continue to be sold commonly today, and major figures, including King Charles III support practises such as homoeopathy.

This is despite the lack of consistent evidence to prove the medical benefits these practises claim to have.

This shows that although new methods of treatment like antibiotic use, have been developed, many people continue to rely on practises which lack scientific proof just like they did in 1900.

Therefore, whilst modern treatment has advanced, the practises people choose to use are not always much more effective than those from 1900." So again, really well done if your own response looks something similar to the model which we've just seen.

And so that means we've reached the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning about modern approaches to medical treatment.

We've seen that automation and similar technological changes have made treatments more available by increasing medicine production and reducing costs.

New forms of treatment, like radiotherapy and the use of pacemakers, have used new technologies to treat a wide range of conditions.

Alternative treatments remain popular in Britain, despite lacking the same level of evidence as mainstream medicine, to demonstrate their effectiveness.

And popular alternative treatments include acupuncture, herbal remedies, and homoeopathy.

So really well done for all of your hard work during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources today, and I look forward to seeing you again in future as we continue to think about medicine in Britain, and health in the people.