Hospitals - Change & Continuity

What were hospitals like in the Renaissance?

Some hospitals during the Renaissance were still controlled by the Church, but fewer than before. They were very different from the hospitals that existed previously.

How did hospitals change during the Renaissance?

During the Renaissance, hospitals changed in 6 key ways.

• ❖ Hospitals were no longer just places where pilgrims, travellers and the elderly could rest and pray. Patients were given treatment, and records were kept to show how many people recovered.
• ❖ Physicians started to visit patients in the hospitals, where they carried out observations and recommended treatments.
• ❖ Hospitals began to have their own apothecaries and pharmacies to make medicines.
• ❖ Hospitals began to provide good food for patients to eat. Although it was no longer believed that diet affected the four humours, it was accepted that it was important to recover and maintain good health.
• ❖ People began to visit hospitals when they sustained injuries in order to have them treated.
• ❖ As King Henry VIII closed down monasteries during the Reformation, many hospitals also closed as they were run by the Church. It took some time for numbers to increase again, and many hospitals were subsequently run by charities.