In the Middle Ages, such medical treatment as was available was provided by the Church and especially by monastic foundations. For example, St Thomas’ Hospital in London had been established around 1170, as a memorial to Thomas Becket. It was a religious foundation of Augustinian monks and nuns, which provided shelter and medical treatment for the poor, sick and homeless. The Priory of St Mary of Bethlehem founded in Bishopsgate in about 1247 had a hospital attached to it by 1330. Elsewhere in England and in Scotland, there were similar monastic hospitals — Soutra Aisle, near Fala, for example, was an Augustinian hospital founded in 1164.
That said, even in medieval times, government authorities had from time to time intervened in matters of public health, often in an effort to clean up filthy conditions in towns and cities. For example:
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