In the Victorian era, doctors lacked modern medical knowledge and hospitals, resulting in many deaths from disease and infections. Treatment methods were crude, relying on practices like bloodletting, vomiting induction, herbal remedies, and prayers. Major plagues like the Black Death took many lives due to the lack of understanding of germ theory and antibiotics. By the late Victorian era, some medical advances were made with inventions like the hypodermic needle, but doctors still had limited effectiveness compared to modern times.