VOICES FROM THE NHS A PEOPLE'S HISTORY
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VOICES FROM THE NHS A PEOPLE’S HISTORY DARRYL CUNNINGHAM
THE NHS WAS BORN 5 JULY 1948. ON THAT DAY, DOCTORS, NURSES, PHARMACISTS,
OPTICIANS, DENTISTS AND HOSPITALS CAME TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME TO
PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH SERVICES FOR ALL ACROSS THE FOUR NATIONS
OF THE UK.
ANEURIN ‘NYE’ BEVAN, THE HEALTH HERE HE MET THE NHS’S FIRST PATIENT,
MINISTER WHO WAS THE NHS’S 13-YEAR-OLD SYLVIA DIGGORY, WHO HAD
CREATOR, VISITED PARK HOSPITAL IN ACUTE NEPHRITIS, A LIFE-THREATENING
DAVYHULME, MANCHESTER (NOW LIVER CONDITION.
TRAFFORD GENERAL HOSPITAL).
YEARS LATER IN AN INTERVIEW, SYLVIA YOUNG SYLVIA HAD EAVESDROPPED
RECALLED HOW BEVAN HAD ASKED HER IF ON ADULTS’ CONVERSATIONS AND SO
SHE UNDERSTOOD THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KNEW THAT A GREAT CHANGE WAS
THE OCCASION? IT WAS, HE TOLD HER, A COMING. IT SEEMED TO HER THAT
MILESTONE IN HISTORY AND THE MOST MOST PEOPLE COULD HARDLY BELIEVE
CIVILISED STEP THE COUNTRY HAD WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
EVER TAKEN.
1
THE FIRST BABY TO BE ANEIRA BECAME KNOWN AS NYE. WHEN SHE
BORN IN THE NHS WAS WAS A CHILD, HER MOTHER WOULD
ANEIRA THOMAS. ON INTRODUCE ANEIRA TO OTHERS WITH
MONDAY 5 JULY 1948. THE WORDS, ‘THIS IS NYE. MY NATIONAL
SHE WAS NAMED BY HER HEALTH BABY.’
MOTHER AFTER THE
ARCHITECT OF
THE HEALTH SERVICE.
SHE WAS THE YOUNGEST OF SEVEN ANEIRA BELIEVED THAT NOT HAVING TO
CHILDREN AND THE FIRST IN THE FAMILY PAY FOR THE STAY IN HOSPITAL AND
TO BE BORN AT HOME. THE BIRTH DIDN’T THE ATTENDANCE OF THE DOCTOR
COST HER PARENTS A PENNY. WHEN HER WOULD HAVE BEEN A BIG RELIEF TO HER
SIBLINGS HAD BEEN BORN, HER PARENTS MOTHER. AS WAGES WERE LOW AND
HAD TO PAY A MIDWIFE ONE SHILLING AND MONEY WAS TIGHT IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD.
SIXPENCE TO COME AND DELIVER THE
BABY.
ANEIRA THOMAS’S FAMILY LIVED IN A SOUTH WALES MINING COMMUNITY. TOO POOR TO
AFFORD GOOD HEALTH CARE BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE NHS. IT WAS ANEIRA’S VIEW
THAT THE NHS WAS SET UP TO MAINTAIN LIFE. SHE NEVER KNEW ANY OF HER
GRANDPARENTS BECAUSE THEY DIED BETWEEN THE AGES OF 30 AND 50. BUT HER
MOTHER LIVED UNTIL SHE WAS 95, WHICH SHE PUT DOWN TO THE NHS.
2
HOWEVER THE TREATMENT OF ONE CRITIC WAS THE MOTHER AND
EXPECTANT MOTHERS IN THE EARLY DAYS AUTHOR SARAH CAMPION (A PSEUDONYM
OF THE NHS WAS NOT ALWAYS PERFECT. FOR THE AUTHOR MARY ROSE COULTON),
WHO HAD HER FIRST BABY IN 1949, JUST A
IS THAT YEAR AFTER THE FORMATION OF THE NHS.
TRUE?
CAMPION’S BOOK NATIONAL BABY, MUCH OF CAMPION’S ACCOUNT IS CRITICAL
PUBLISHED IN 1950, IS A FIRST-HAND OF THE NHS. SHE OBSERVED HOW MEDICAL
ACCOUNT OF PREGNANCY AND BIRTH UNDER PROFESSIONALS WERE DEEMED TO KNOW
THE NEW NHS. IT IS WRITTEN AS A DIARY, WHAT WAS BEST FOR THE PATIENT, AND
AND FOLLOWS CAMPION’S EXPERIENCE OF THE MOTHER WAS SEEN AS COMPARATIVELY
ANTENATAL CLINICS, BIRTH, HOSPITAL LIFE, INFERIOR AND IGNORANT.
AND POSTNATAL SERVICES.
THANK YOU,
DOCTOR.
NATIONAL BABY SHOWS THAT THIS CAMPION DESCRIBED HOW DOCTORS
VIEW WAS WIDESPREAD AMONGST REFUSED TO GIVE MOTHERS INFORMATION
DOCTORS AND NURSES IN THE LATE 1940s. ABOUT THEIR OWN BODIES. FOR INSTANCE,
AT THE ANTENATAL CLINIC CAMPION WAS
TOLD SCOLDINGLY BY A NURSE...
I’LL DECIDE
WHAT IS BEST DON’T TOUCH
FOR THE THAT FILE.
PATIENT. BUT IT’S
MY FILE.
3
HOWEVER CAMPION ULTIMATELY URGED ONE AREA WHERE THE NHS WAS HUGELY
MOTHERS TO USE THE FACILITIES OFFERED SUCCESSFUL WAS IN THE CARE OF
BY THE NHS, DESPITE THE LACK OF PREMATURE BABIES. THE LAUNCH OF
PERSONAL SERVICE. SHE UNDERSTOOD THE NHS COINCIDED WITH AN INCREASED
THAT THIS MAY BE A SACRIFICE WORTH COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING SYSTEMATIC
PAYING FOR A BIRTH WITH EXPERTS, FREE NEONATAL CARE.
AT THE POINT OF USE.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTIETH BUT AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR
CENTURY INFANT MORTALITY REMAINED THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN THE
HIGH AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF A PRETERM TYPES OF ANTENATAL AND NEONATAL
BABY SURVIVING INFANCY WAS LOW. MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE
TO MIDWIVES AND OBSTETRICIANS FOR
THE SAFE DELIVERY AND CARE OF
PREMATURE BABIES.
SPECIAL BABY CARE UNITS WERE CREATED, HOWEVER, WHILE BIRTH IN THE NHS HAS
WITH EARLY UNITS AT BRISTOL, IMPROVED, EVEN TODAY NOT ALL
MANCHESTER AND BIRMINGHAM. THE NEW, MOTHERS AND BABIES SURVIVE. RECENT
EXPANDING NHS MADE SUCH UNITS RESEARCH* ALSO SHOWS THAT FOR
AVAILABLE TO MOST. BLACK, ASIAN AND MIXED HERITAGE
WOMEN AND THOSE WITH PRE-EXISTING
CONDITIONS, SOME OF THE PROBLEMS
CAMPION DESCRIBED PERSIST.
*SEE INSIDE BACK PAGE FOR REFERENCE.
4
WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF CHILDREN I KNEW I HAD TO BE BRAVE AND HAVE THIS
IN THE EARLY NHS? HERE ARE THE WORDS OPERATION, BUT I DID CRY WHEN MY MUMMY
OF NICOLA KINGSTON WHO WAS FIVE WHEN AND DADDY LEFT ME THERE AND I HAD TO
SHE HAD AN OPERATION TO HAVE HER SPEND THE NIGHT IN A BIG WARD WITH
TONSILS AND ADENOIDS OUT AT THE OTHER CHILDREN.
WESTMINSTER CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL,
LONDON.
MY MOST VIVID MEMORY THOUGH WAS I HAVE ALWAYS REMEMBERED HOW THAT
WAKING UP FROM THE OPERATION, AND MY SWAN SHOWED ME MY DAD LOVED ME EVEN
THROAT WAS SO SORE AND STILL NO THOUGH PARENTS WERE ONLY ALLOWED
MUMMY OR DADDY, BUT THERE WAS A TO VISIT FOR TWO HOURS IN THE
VASE OF A SWAN, FULL OF FLOWERS. AFTERNOONS.
I THINK THINGS CHANGED AFTER THAT NOT ALL CHILDREN HOSPITALISED IN THE
WHEN RESEARCH SHOWED THAT CHILDREN EARLY NHS HAVE HAPPY MEMORIES.
SEPARATED FROM THEIR PARENTS AND HERE’S AN ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTOR TO
RECOVERED MUCH SLOWER. I STILL THE PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE NHS
REMEMBER THAT SWAN VASE. WEBSITE, WHO WAS ADMITTED TO BOW
ARROW CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, DARTFORD,
WITH TUBERCULOSIS IN 1956.
I WAS NOT ALLOWED OUT OF BED FOR
ANYTHING, NOT ALLOWED TO SIT UP
EVEN TO EAT, EVERYTHING DONE ON
MY SIDE.
5
IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT, I WAS IN I WASN’T ALLOWED TO JOIN IN THE
HOSPITAL FOR BETWEEN 9 TO 10 MONTHS SCHOOL LESSONS ON THE WARD FOR AGES.
WITH 3 MONTHS RECUPERATION AT HOME HOW I CRAVED THE CARDBOARD BOX THE
BEFORE BEING ALLOWED BACK TO SCHOOL. OTHER CHILDREN HAD FULL OF PENCILS,
RUBBER AND RULER.
IT WAS A WONDERFUL DAY WHEN HER BOX CHRISTMAS CAME AND NO VISITORS WERE
ARRIVED. SHE STILL HAD TO WORK ON HER ALLOWED ON CHRISTMAS DAY. THE WARD
SIDE, BUT SHE WAS SO PLEASED THERE WAS DECORATED WITH GARLANDS AND
WAS MORE TO DO OTHER THAN LISTEN TO BALLOONS.
THE RADIO ON HEADPHONES OR READ
BOOKS.
MY MUM TOLD ME TO STAY AWAKE ON WELL, I DID TRY, BUT I SLEPT
CHRISTMAS EVE AS THE NURSES WOULD THROUGH IT ALL.
TURN THEIR CLOAKS INSIDE OUT TO SHOW
THE RED LINING AND COME TO EACH BED
TO SING CAROLS.
6
I REALISE HOW NEAT AND TIDY AND IT IS SO MUCH BETTER FOR PARENTS
BARREN THE WARDS WERE FOR CHILDREN BEING ABLE TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME
IN THOSE DAYS AND VISITING WAS THE AS THEY LIKE WITH THEIR SICK
BARE MINIMUM. CHILDREN THESE DAYS.
I HAD MY OWN CHILDHOOD NHS EXPERIENCE.
I WAS PLACED IN A ROOM WITH ONLY
IN DECEMBER 1963, AT THE AGE OF THREE,
ONE OTHER CHILD; A BABY IN A COT.
I WAS ADMITTED TO THE MORTON BANKS
NO VISITORS WERE ALLOWED IN
HOSPITAL IN KEIGHLEY, YORKSHIRE, WITH
THIS ROOM.
SCARLET FEVER.
DARRYL
CUNNINGHAM
I COULD ONLY SEE MY FATHER AND WHEN CHRISTMAS CAME, A MASKED
GRANDMOTHER AS THEY WAVED AT ME FATHER CHRISTMAS BROUGHT TOYS,
THROUGH A WINDOW IN THE DOOR. THAT INCLUDED A RED TRICYCLE.
MY MOTHER WAS GIVING BIRTH TO MY
YOUNGER BROTHER IN ANOTHER HOSPITAL,
SO I DIDN’T SEE HER AT ALL.
7
WAS I TRAUMATISED BY THIS EXPERIENCE? YET MY GRANDMOTHER TOLD ME YEARS
I DON’T RECALL FEELING ILL APART FROM LATER THAT I WAS QUITE CHANGED AFTER
A BAD HEADACHE. NOR DO I REMEMBER MY STAY IN HOSPITAL. I WAS A BOISTEROUS
BEING DISTRESSED BY THE SEPARATION CHILD BEFORE, BUT AFTERWARDS, QUIET
FROM MY FAMILY. ALL THE STAFF WERE AND WITHDRAWN.
KIND TO ME.
CERTAINLY, I WAS A SHY CHILD WHO UP UNTIL THE LATE 1940 s, IT WAS
SUFFERED MUCH ANXIETY, BUT WHETHER THOUGHT UNDESIRABLE FOR CHILDREN
THIS WAS CAUSED BY MY HOSPITAL STAY, TO BE VISITED REGULARLY BY THEIR
I CAN’T SAY. I MAY WELL HAVE DEVELOPED PARENTS IN HOSPITAL. THE INSTITUTION’S
THOSE TRAITS ANYWAY. DESIRE FOR ORDER AND CLEANLINESS
OVERRODE EMOTIONAL NEEDS.
MANY HOSPITALS PERMITTED ONLY SLOWLY, CAMPAIGNERS DROVE FORWARD
MONTHLY VISITS AND SOME NONE AT ALL. CHANGES MAKING IT EASIER FOR PARENTS,
IN THE 1950 s THERE BEGAN TO BE ALTHOUGH IT WASN’T UNTIL THE 1970 s
CONCERN OVER LEAVING YOUNG CHILDREN THAT UNRESTRICTED VISITING BECAME
IN HOSPITAL AWAY FROM THEIR PARENTS STANDARD POLICY IN NHS HOSPITALS.
AND THE THREAT OF ‘SEPARATION
ANXIETY.’
8
WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING SO WHEN SHE HAD A FAMILY AND WENT
IN THE NHS LIKE? AN ANONYMOUS BACK TO WORKING NIGHTS WHEN WE WERE
COMMENTATOR WROTE... YOUNG SHE WAS ALWAYS AWARE OF
MY MOTHER WAS A MIDWIFE AND SPENT NURSES WHO WERE FAR FROM HOME AT
CHRISTMASES IN LODGINGS AND ON HER CHRISTMAS.
OWN WHEN SHE CAME OVER FROM IRELAND
TO TRAIN AS A NURSE IN LONDON.
THIS MEANT WE REGULARLY HAD NURSES SO I GREW UP WITH THIS SENSE OF
FROM IRELAND, JAMAICA, NIGERIA OR THE NURSING BEING SOMETHING OF A
PHILIPPINES FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER. COMMUNITY AND QUITE INTERNATIONAL.
GILLIAN SINGLETON REMEMBERS WHAT THERE WERE ABOUT 50 STUDENT NURSES
NURSING WAS LIKE IN THE 1970 s. IN MY SET AND WE STARTED OUR TRAINING
IN THE SCHOOL OF NURSING WHERE WE
IN APRIL 1974, I APPLIED TO LEEDS GENERAL
SPENT SIX WEEKS STUDYING ANATOMY AND
INFIRMARY AND WAS ACCEPTED FOR NURSE
PHYSIOLOGY, AN INTRODUCTION TO SOME
TRAINING IN THE FOLLOWING NOVEMBER.
DISEASE PROCESSES, EMERGENCY
PROCEDURES...
9...AND THE PRACTICAL SKILLS THAT AFTER THE SIX-WEEK INTRODUCTORY
WOULD BECOME SO FAMILIAR TO US (BED PERIOD WE WERE PLACED ON THE WARDS
BATHING, MOBILITY ASSISTANCE, AND AND EXPOSED TO SOME TYRANNICAL WARD
FEEDING). SISTERS AND MATRONS.
THE LEARNING CURVE WAS STEEP DURING ...THAT THE EMERGENCY PROCEDURE WAS
OUR FIRST THREE MONTHS ON THE WARDS. ALL VERY WELL IF EVERYONE COULD
WE DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT REMAIN CALM AND THAT ‘LAST OFFICES’
TO BED BATH FIVE PATIENTS EVERY (THE LAYING OUT OF A DEAD PERSON)
MORNING BEFORE LUNCH EXACTLY HOW WAS AN EXTREMELY PAINFUL EXPERIENCE
THEY HAD ADVOCATED IN SCHOOL... THE FIRST TIME WE HAD TO DO IT.
WE WERE BARELY INTO OUR SECOND YEAR BY THE TIME WE WERE IN OUR THIRD
BEFORE WE WERE PUT IN CHARGE OF THE YEAR WE WERE BEING TRAINED TO GIVE
WARDS ON NIGHT DUTY, MANAGING DRUGS AND WOULD BE EXPECTED TO
ACUTELY ILL PATIENTS AND LIVING IN FEAR OVERSEE JUNIOR NURSES WHILST STILL
OF OUR NIGHT SISTERS. LEARNING NEW SKILLS OURSELVES.
‘SEE ONE, DO ONE,TEACH ONE’ WAS
HOW WE ALL LEARNED.
10NOT ALL STUDENTS NURSES HAD A IN HONG KONG SHE’D HAD AN AMAH (GIRL OR
POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. IN 1963, MAGGS WOMAN EMPLOYED BY A FAMILY TO CLEAN,
LATTER FLEW FROM HONG KONG WHERE LOOK AFTER CHILDREN, AND PERFORM
SHE HAD BEEN LIVING, AND HEADED TO OTHER DOMESTIC TASKS) AND SO
THE UK AND THE ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL COULDN’T IRON OR MAKE A BED.
SCHOOL OF NURSING.
THE SIX WEEKS TRAINING WAS HARD SHE WAS CONSTANTLY AWARE OF THE
WORK, WITH STRANGE RULES: DON’T LOWLY STATUS OF STUDENT NURSES.
WEAR YOUR HOSPITAL CRESTED SCARF, WHEN CONSULTANTS CAME INTO THE
ESPECIALLY NEAR MEN. BECAUSE NURSES WARD, STUDENTS HAD TO HIDE IN THE
WERE REGARDED AS EASY SEXUAL SLUICE.
CONQUESTS.
ONE TIME SHE HAD LIPSTICK ON MEN’S SURGICAL WARDS WERE A HIVE OF
AND WAS TOLD BY SISTER TO... SEXUAL INNUENDO FROM THE PATIENTS,
TOO. EVENTUALLY, FEELING TOTALLY
SCRUB YOUR PAINTED FACE. WHERE BEMUSED, FRIGHTENED OF THE
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, A MAY BALL? RESPONSIBILITY, AND THOROUGHLY FED
UP, SHE HANDED IN HER RESIGNATION.
11FORTUNATELY FOR THE NHS, BETWEEN 1948 AND 1973 THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARRIVED IN
THE UK FROM THE COMMONWEALTH. THEY WERE KNOWN AS THE ‘WINDRUSH’ GENERATION,
DERIVED FROM THE ‘HMT EMPIRE WINDRUSH’ SHIP, WHICH BROUGHT ONE OF THE FIRST LARGE
GROUPS OF CARIBBEAN PEOPLE TO THE UK. MANY OF THESE PEOPLE TOOK UP JOBS IN
THE NHS.
VERILINE VASSELL MADE THE I WAS EMPLOYED AS AN AUXILIARY NURSE
JOURNEY FROM JAMAICA. AT THE ROYAL HOSPITAL
WOLVERHAMPTON BEFORE SPENDING
25 YEARS AT NEW CROSS
I ANSWERED THE CALL FOR NURSES BY
HOSPITAL AND FINALLY PENN
THE UNITED KINGDOM AND FLEW TO
HOSPITAL.
ENGLAND IN THE EARLY 1960 s.
I WORKED ON THE GERIATRIC WARD. I WAS SHOCKED TO FIND ELDERLY ‘WHITE’
THIS WARD WAS EXCLUSIVELY FOR PEOPLE EXISTING IN SOMETIMES A STATE OF
THE ELDERLY. DEGRADATION, RIGHT HERE IN THE ‘MOTHER
LAND’, IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT
WHITE PEOPLE COULD LIVE LIKE THIS.
12EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, YOU’D ENCOUNTER SOME PATIENTS COULD BE REALLY UNKIND
A PATIENT WHO DID NOT WANT TO BE WITH THEIR WORDS AND ACTIONS BUT I
TREATED BY A ‘BLACK’ NURSE AND WOULD LEARNT EVENTUALLY TO SHRUG IT OFF.
SCREAM OUT LOUD IF YOU CAME NEAR. FORTUNATELY THIS WAS NOT THE NORM.
GET YOUR WOULD YOU
HANDS OFF LIKE A CUP
ME. OF TEA?
WHY, YES.
THANK YOU,
NURSE.
THE FIRST TIME I SAW SNOW WAS DURING I MISTOOK SNOWFALL FOR COTTON
A SHIFT, MY COLLEAGUES AND PATIENTS BLOWING ON THE WIND. WHEN THEY TOLD
WERE MOST AMUSED WHEN I INQUIRED AS ME IT WAS SNOW, I RAN STRAIGHT OUTSIDE
TO THE LOCATION OF THE COTTON FIELD. WITHOUT A COAT TO FEEL IT ON MY SKIN.
BEV MORRIS TELLS HER STORY. I WAS ONLY FIVE YEARS OLD AND
I REMEMBER THINKING...
I CAME TO THIS COUNTRY (FROM JAMAICA)
ON THE 25TH OF OCTOBER IN 1966, WITH OH MY GOD, WHAT’S GOING ON,
MY MUM, AND JOINED MY DAD HERE - HE IT’S REALLY COLD!
CAME HERE IN ‘61. I ARRIVED AT
HEATHROW AIRPORT.
ARRIVALS
13BEV’S MOTHER BECAME A MENTAL I THINK MOST OF US HAD PARENTS
HEALTH NURSE IN THE NHS, MOVING WHO WANTED US TO SUCCEED AND I
LATER TO MIDWIFERY, WHERE SHE HAD THANK THAT DROVE A LOT OF US TO
A LONG CAREER. DO WHAT WE WANTED TO DO.
BEV
MORRIS
FOLLOWING HER MOTHER’S FOOTSTEPS, I WORKED IN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
BEV ALSO BECAME A NURSE. FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, BECAME AN
I WORKED IN MIDWIFERY, WORKED IN ASSISTANT MANAGER IN ONE OF THE
NEUROLOGY, WORKED IN ELDERLY CARE. DEMENTIA WARDS BECAUSE THAT WAS
I WORKED IN DIFFERENT AREAS AROUND MY PASSION.
THE HOSPITAL.
AT TIMES THERE WERE OPPORTUNITIES DESPITE THIS INSTITUTIONAL BIAS, BEV
THAT WERE OFFERED TO ‘ENGLISH PEOPLE STILL ACHIEVED MUCH IN HER CAREER.
AND IRISH NURSES’ BUT NOT BLACK SHE IS CURRENTLY HEAD OF SERVICE
NURSES. IT MEANT SHE HAD TO WORK FOR CONTINUING HEALTH CARE AT
TWICE AS HARD TO BE NOTICED. SANDWELL AND WEST BIRMINGHAM
CCG (CLINICAL COMMISSIONING GROUP).
14A KIND WORD BY A GOOD NURSE CAN MAKE ALL THE DOCTORS THOUGHT I HAD A
ALL THE DIFFERENCE. AS A TEENAGER HOLLY BLEED ON MY BRAIN OR THAT I WAS
WINTER WAS RUSHED INTO HOSPITAL WITH HAVING A STROKE. I WAS ABOUT 17,
A MIGRAINE SO SEVERE THAT SHE BEGGED HER I THINK, MAYBE 16.
DAD TO KILL HER IF THE PAIN DIDN’T STOP.
I HAVE THIS WEIRD MEMORY. I FELT LIKE EVERYTHING UNDER THE ‘ICE’ WAS SWIRLY
I WAS UNDER THIS HUGE SHEET OF ICE, AND WEIRD, FOGGY. I COULDN’T SPEAK AT
AND THERE WAS THIS TINY CRACK IN IT ALL, AND COULD ONLY SEE OUT OF ONE EYE,
THAT I COULD PEEK UP THROUGH AND AND THAT WAS PARTIAL AND DISTORTED.
LISTEN TO DISTANT PEOPLE AND SOUNDS, I COULDN’T MOVE ANYTHING ON THE
BUT THEY SEEMED MILES AWAY. LEFT- HAND SIDE OF MY BODY.
BUT THE NURSE WHO HAD BEEN LOOKING ALL NIGHT TO THE NEXT DAY I REPLAYED
AFTER ME, HELD MY HAND AND SAID TO ME... HER VOICE IN MY HEAD, ‘I’M SARAH-JANE
HOLLY, I’M SARAH-JANE AND I’LL AND I’LL BE BACK TOMORROW’. THAT’S
BE BACK TOMORROW. . MY MOST SPECIAL NHS MEMORY. I KNEW
‘SARAH-JANE’ WAS COMING BACK TO
LOOK AFTER ME.
15EMMA QIAO TELLS HER FATHER’S STORY. DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR,
EMMA’S FATHER WAS A PRISONER OF
MY FATHER GIUSEPPE GIANCOLA WAS WAR IN WALES, HAVING BEEN CAPTURED
BORN IN SOUTHERN ITALY IN 1921 AND IN NORTH AFRICA.
DIED IN ENGLAND IN 2001. HIS FAMILY
WERE PEASANT FARMERS AND MY
MOTHER (TERESA IACOBUCCI) WAS
FROM THE SAME VILLAGE.
AFTER THE WAR HE WORKED AS A MINER IN 1957 HE WAS KNOCKED OFF HIS
IN FRANCE BEFORE RETURNING TO THE UK BICYCLE BY A CAR RESULTING IN
TO WORK FOR A BRICK MAKING SEVERE FRACTURES TO HIS RIGHT LEG.
COMPANY IN THE MIDLANDS.
HE HAD SEVERAL OPERATIONS TO SAVE HE MADE A FULL RECOVERY ALBEIT WITH A
THE LEG, SPENDING MONTHS IN ONE OF SMALL LIMP, RETURNED TO WORK, AND STILL
THE NOTTINGHAM HOSPITALS. HIS RIGHT RODE A BICYCLE. HE WAS LEFT WITH TERRIBLE
HAND WAS ATTACHED TO HIS RIGHT SCARS, BUT WAS ALWAYS GRATEFUL FOR
THIGH. THIS WAS DONE TO HELP GROW ALL THE MEDICAL AND NURSING CARE HE
SKIN TISSUE FOR SKIN GRAFTING. RECEIVED.
16MY DAD SPENT MOST OF HIS LIFE IN EMMA ULTIMATELY BECAME HER PARENTS’
ENGLAND WORKING IN THE LOCAL FACTORY. CARER IN THEIR LATER YEARS.
JUST AS HE RETIRED HE DEVELOPED THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE GAVE
PARKINSON’S DISEASE AT 65, AND SPENT THEM PEACE OF MIND. THEY UNDERSTOOD
MANY YEARS IN AND OUT OF HOSPITAL. THAT THE TAXES THEY PAID MADE THIS
SERVICE AVAILABLE TO THEM. THEY
I’VE GOT A BIT OF WOULD NEVER HAVE ACCEPTED
A SHAKY HAND. CHARITY.
SADLY AT THE END OF THEIR LIVES, WE ENCOUNTERED MANY CARING,
THE CARE THEY NEEDED WAS DIFFICULT COMPASSIONATE DOCTORS AND
TO ACCESS DUE TO BUREAUCRACY AND WONDERFUL NURSES, BUT ALSO OTHERS
AN ATTITUDE THAT UNLESS YOU KNEW WHO SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN IN THE
WHAT TO ASK OR WHO TO ASK, YOU CARING PROFESSION.
WERE ON YOUR OWN.
WHAT WAS LACKING WAS SOMEONE WHO WHAT HAS MADE THE NHS GREAT
ACTIVELY SUPPORTED THE FAMILY AS A ARE THE INDIVIDUALS WITHIN THE
WHOLE UNIT. WHAT WE NEEDED WAS ORGANISATION WHO VALUE ITS
SOMEONE WHO KNEW US AS PEOPLE, NOT PRINCIPLES AND APPLY THEM TO THEIR
JUST THE NEXT ‘FAMILY’. ROLE, WHETHER IT’S THE BIG WIGS AT
THE TOP, OR THE CHEERY TEA LADY.
17...ADMINISTRATION, PHARMACEUTICAL AND
CONTRIBUTORS ALSO REMIIND US THAT THERE
SCIENTIFIC STAFF. ALL OF WHOM WORK TO
IS FAR MORE TO THE NHS THAN NURSES OR
PROVIDE A SERVICE ‘FROM CRADLE
DOCTORS.THERE ARE THE PORTERS,
TO GRAVE’.
CATERERS, HOUSEKEEPERS, PARAMEDICS
LAUNDRY WORKERS...
HERE AN ANONYMOUS BIOMEDICAL CHECKING, STARTING UP, AND
SCIENTIST DESCRIBES A TYPICAL CALIBRATING THE ANALYTICAL MACHINES
WORKING DAY. WAS THE MAIN JOB. ONCE THE MACHINES
WERE RUNNING IT WAS A CASE OF
WE WOULD START AT 9AM. THERE WERE
STARTING TO LOAD SAMPLES FROM THE
ABOUT 20 STAFF IN THE MAIN LAB, WITH
PREVIOUS DAY TO PROCESS THEM.
MAYBE 20 MORE IN OTHER PARTS OF
CLINICAL CHEMISTRY.
AS THE DAY PROGRESSED SAMPLES WOULD AT THE END OF THE DAY MOST MACHINES
START TO COME IN FROM THE WARDS AND WERE CLOSED BY 5PM. ALTHOUGH SOME OF
GP SURGERIES. AS SAMPLES WERE THE MACHINES THAT WERE PROCESSING
COMPLETED THEY NEEDED FILING AWAY IN THE BULK OF THE GP WORK WERE KEPT
RACKS IN A COLD ROOM. RUNNING UNTIL 7PM.
18THE BIOCHEMIST DESCRIBED HOW THINGS SOME HAVE SAID THAT IN THE
HAD CHANGED IN THE NHS OVER LABORATORY WORLD THIS WAS DUE
THE YEARS. TO INCREASING AWARENESS OF SAFETY,
IN 1972 THERE WAS FUN, THERE WAS A OR FINANCIAL SCRUTINY.
COMMUNITY, THERE WAS A SENSE OF
BELONGING. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY
WHEN THIS CHANGED - POSSIBLY IN THE
MID-1980 s - OR WHY IT CHANGED.
IN TRUTH IT WAS PROBABLY JUST ANOTHER BIG CHANGE WAS THAT FAR
SOCIETY CHANGING. PEOPLE NO LONGER FEWER STAFF USED PUBLIC TRANSPORT.
LIVED AS CLOSE TO WHERE THEY WORKED YOU DIDN’T SPEAK TO THEM ON THEIR WAY
AS THEY ONCE DID, AND NO LONGER TO AND FROM WORK. THEY BEGAN TO GET
WANTED TO SOCIALISE AROUND THE COCOONED IN THEIR CARS.
WORKPLACE.
STRESS CAUSED BY NHS RESTRUCTURING I FELT, WHEN I HAD TO RETIRE, THAT
PUSHED THIS WORKER INTO EARLY THE NHS HAD BETRAYED ME, LET ME DOWN,
RETIREMENT. AND HAD THROWN 39 YEARS OF SERVICE
THE NHS WAS THE CORE OF MY BEING IN MY FACE.
FROM THE TIME I LEFT SCHOOL UNTIL
I RETIRED. WHEN I LEFT WORK I FELT
THAT MY CORE HAD BEEN COMPLETELY
REMOVED.
19THE NHS IS NOT PERFECT. ATTEMPTS TO IN 2018, WHEN THE NHS TURNED 70,
FRAGMENT AND PRIVATISE THE NHS MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF RESPONDENTS
HAVE UNDERMINED ITS CORE VALUES. IN A YOUGOV POLL SAID THEY CONSIDERED
YET, DESPITE THIS, PUBLIC PRIDE AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INSTITUTION
CONFIDENCE IN THE NHS REMAINS HIGH. TO BE BRITAIN’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT.*
* SEE INSIDE BACK PAGE FOR REFERENCE.
POSITIVE VIEWS OF THE NHS AND ITS NHS STAFF SHOWED ASTONISHING
WORKERS ONLY INCREASED DURING THE SELFLESSNESS AND COMMITMENT, DESPITE
2020 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. THE EXHAUSTING HOURS AND THE LIFE-
THREATENING RISKS THEY FACED JUST
BY GOING TO WORK.
THE PANDEMIC HAS ONLY EMPHASISED MAGGIE KEENAN FROM COVENTRY RECEIVED
HOW ESSENTIAL THE NHS REMAINS THE WORLD’S FIRST COVID VACCINE
TO THE NATION’S HEALTH, AND WHAT IT OUTSIDE OF A CLINICAL TRIAL, FROM NHS
COULD ACHIEVE WITH MORE EFFECTIVE MATRON MAY PARSONS, ONE OF THE MANY
SUPPORT AND PLANNING. MIGRANTS WHO KEPT THE NHS RUNNING
THROUGHOUT THE EPIDEMIC.
20SINCE 1948, THE NHS HAS CARED FOR UK ...BARRIERS TO ACCESSING CARE, AND
RESIDENTS FREE AT THE POINT OF DELIVERY, PRESSURE TO PRIVATISE SOME SERVICES.
FUNDED BY TAXES WE ALL PAY: IT OFFERS BUT THE PRINCIPLE THAT NO PERSON SHOULD
HEALTHCARE AS A HUMAN RIGHT, NOT A BE PENALISED FOR FALLING ILL HAS BEEN AT
COMMODITY. THIS COMMITMENT HAS BEEN THE HEART OF THE NHS SINCE ITS FOUNDATION,
THREATENED BY BUDGET CUTS... AND THE BRITISH PUBLIC REMAINS COMMITTED
TO IT TODAY.
THE NHS IS THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN THE UK, THE NHS HAS BECOME PART OF BRITISH IDENTI-
DIRECTLY EMPLOYING 1.6 MILLION PEOPLE – MORE TY. OVER THE DECADES IT HAS GROWN INTO A
IF WE COUNT GPS AND OTHER CONTRACTORS. SYMBOL, INTEGRAL TO THE WAY WE SEE OUR-
NHS WORKERS, LIKE NHS PATIENTS, ARE SELVES AND HOW WE WANT TO SEE OUR
DIVERSE AND MULTICULTURAL. NATION:AS COMPASSIONATE AND FAIR.
NONE OF THE PEOPLE PORTRAYED IN THIS BOOK THIS IS BECAUSE, DESPITE ITS FAILINGS AND
MENTIONED MONEY AS A MOTIVE. WHATEVER LIMITATIONS, PEOPLE ARE ATTRACTED TO
THEY DO, NHS WORKERS OFTEN EXPRESS A THE VALUES OF THE NHS. LONG MAY THIS
STRONG NEED TO HELP OTHERS AND PATIENTS CONTINUE.
USUALLY TRUST THAT CARE IS APPORTIONED
ACCORDING TO THEIR NEEDS AND NOT
THEIR MEANS.
21ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE NHS, AND ESPECIALLY
THOSE – BOTH NAMED AND ANONYMOUS - WHO HAVE KINDLY ALLOWED US TO USE THEIR STORIES HERE.
WE ARE GRATEFUL TO OUR PARTNERS JENNIFER JONES-RIGBY AT THE HEALTH EXCHANGE (WWW.HEALTHEXCHANGE.ORG.UK/) AND
DONNA MIGHTY AT SANDWELL AND WEST BIRMINGHAM HOSPITALS [SWBH] NHS TRUST, WHO HELPED US HEAR OFTEN-SILENCED NHS
WORKERS AND USERS. THANKS ALSO TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF SWBH AND ARTIST INÈS ELSA DALAL (WWW.INESELSA.COM)’S ‘HERE
TO STAY’ PORTRAIT PROJECT, FEATURED ON PAGES 12-14. ALL ARTWORK BY DARRYL CUNNINGHAM. THANKS TO BONNIE MILLARD
FOR TECHNICAL ADVICE.
MANY STORIES IN THIS BOOK WOULD HAVE REMAINED UNTOLD WITHOUT THE ‘CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE NHS’ TEAM (ROBERTA
BIVINS, MATHEW THOMSON, JENNIFER CRANE, HANNAH ELIZABETH, GEORGE GOSLING, JANE HAND, NATALIE MANN, JACK SAUNDERS,
AND ESPECIALLY ROSEMARY CRESSWELL); HONORARY MEMBERS ANDREW BURCHELL, ED DEVANE, GARETH MILLWARD, AND CHRIS SIRRS;
AND THE ‘NHS TRIBES’.
THE ‘PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE NHS’ HAS BEEN GENEROUSLY FUNDED BY THE WELLCOME TRUST.
YOU CAN READ MORE AT PEOPLESHISTORYNHS.ORG
SOURCES:
HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY, BLACK MATERNAL HEALTHCARE AND MORTALITY DEBATE PACK, 14 APRIL 2021. HTTPS://RESEARCH-
BRIEFINGS.FILES.PARLIAMENT.UK/DOCUMENTS/CDP-2021-0055/CDP-2021-0055.PDF
YOUGOV SURVEY RESULTS, 26 FEBRUARY 2018 HTTPS://D25D2506SFB94S.CLOUDFRONT.NET/CUMULUS_UPLOADS/DOCUMENT/
IOPAHGU564/INTERNALRESULTS_180205_FEMINISM_SUFFRAGETTES_W.PDF
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