The Diseases Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1883 ( 46 & 47 Vict. c. 35) was an

Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom An act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is primary legislation passed by the UK Parliament in Westminster, London. An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ire ...

passed in 1883, during the reign of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. Earlier in the century the

Metropolitan Asylums Board The Metropolitan Asylums Board (MAB) was established under Poor Law legislation to deal with London's sick and poor. It was established by the Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 6) and dissolved in 1930, when its functions were transfer ...

(MAB) had been established under the

Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 The Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 6) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the first in a series of major reforms that led to the gradual separation of the English Poor Laws, Poor ...

( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 6) to deal with London's sick poor, run as a

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

institution. But under increasing pressure resulting from a series of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemics in the early 1880s a

royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

was set up in 1881 to investigate how best to deal with those suffering from infectious diseases. The commission recommended that the provision of hospital treatment for those with infectious diseases should be decoupled from the Poor Law, and instead be considered part of London's sanitary arrangements. The commission also recommended that paupers and non-paupers should be treated alike, although there might be separate wards for those able to pay. The Diseases Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1883 effectively abolished the distinction between paupers and non-paupers in the provision of the MAB's hospital care. It also had the effect of permitting

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

infirmaries to treat paying non-paupers as well as their own inmates, and by the beginning of the 20th century some were even able to operate as private hospitals.

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* * {{Authority control 1883 in London United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1883 Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England Poor law infirmaries