A Prophet in His Own Country

Henry Lilley Smith spent his entire professional career in Southam; initially appointed Parish Surgeon, in 1818 he established an ‘Infirmary for the Treatment of Diseases of the Eye and Ear’, where he provided his services completely free, and then, in 1823, opened a Provident (or ‘self-sufficient’) Dispensary - ‘the first in the Kingdom’ - for the medical care of local working-class folk. Despite sustained professional opposition during his lifetime, by the end of the century many more Provident Dispensaries for the working-class had been established, ‘self-sufficiency’ being recognised as ‘best practice’; this principle (with additional financial support from the State) was adopted by Lloyd George in his National Insurance Act of 1911. Dr Robson's book attempts to restore the reputation of a Victorian country surgeon, whose remarkable and innovative schemes for the provision of affordable health care for Warwickshire working-class families have been almost completely forgotten.