Episode 3

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0:00:02 > 0:00:05With transplants, microsurgery and life-saving medicines,

0:00:05 > 0:00:09it's too easy to take for granted the amazing things our doctors do for us.

0:00:09 > 0:00:12We forget just how far we've come in our lifetime.

0:00:12 > 0:00:16So I'm going to take us on a journey to remind us how things used to be.

0:00:16 > 0:00:20I'm Larry Lamb. Welcome to A Picture Of Health.

0:00:42 > 0:00:46Coming up - how two men found hope in the shadow of a life-threatening disease.

0:00:46 > 0:00:51- It's a wonderful place, the way it was run and everything. - I've got a lot to be thankful for.

0:00:51 > 0:00:56The remarkable experiment that brought hope to thousands of childless couples.

0:00:56 > 0:00:57We feel so privileged,

0:00:57 > 0:01:01that we were part of this amazing piece of history.

0:01:01 > 0:01:04And Larry's special guest in the Picture Of Health surgery

0:01:04 > 0:01:06is newsreader Fiona Armstrong

0:01:06 > 0:01:09who'll share some of her own personal stories.

0:01:09 > 0:01:13- Waiting for it to touch a nerve and grasping the edge of the seat. - Yeah, and no injections.

0:01:13 > 0:01:15It was really horrible.

0:01:18 > 0:01:22First today, every medical breakthrough needs pioneers

0:01:22 > 0:01:25but they also need people willing to test out their theories.

0:01:25 > 0:01:28This story's about a brave group of women who took part

0:01:28 > 0:01:31in a secret experiment that would change the world.

0:01:34 > 0:01:38In today's society, infertility is often seen as a treatable condition.

0:01:40 > 0:01:43But rewind 40 years and it was a completely different story.

0:01:45 > 0:01:50Infertile couples and women would have to come to terms with the fact they might never have children.

0:01:50 > 0:01:56I think most women in this position feel very inadequate, and...

0:01:56 > 0:01:57it comes as quite a blow

0:01:57 > 0:02:00when you can't have children and you want them badly.

0:02:04 > 0:02:08But one man was determined to change all that.

0:02:08 > 0:02:10He was a scientist called Bob Edwards.

0:02:14 > 0:02:19Dad was always passionate in every way possible.

0:02:19 > 0:02:22He thought having children was the most important thing in life

0:02:22 > 0:02:25and he knew there was a great section of society

0:02:25 > 0:02:28that were unable to have children.

0:02:31 > 0:02:35Bob linked up with a gynaecologist called Patrick Steptoe.

0:02:35 > 0:02:37Together they came up with a treatment

0:02:37 > 0:02:39called in vitro fertilisation, or IVF

0:02:39 > 0:02:42and they hoped it would help thousands of couples and women

0:02:42 > 0:02:44desperate to have children.

0:02:46 > 0:02:50He knew what it could lead to.

0:02:50 > 0:02:53He just had a vision and he was determined he was going to get there.

0:02:56 > 0:02:59Grace MacDonald was one of the women needing their help.

0:02:59 > 0:03:03I was told that I couldn't have children after we'd been trying

0:03:03 > 0:03:08for maybe about a couple of years and so I was devastated.

0:03:08 > 0:03:13Because I couldn't imagine my life just...you know, childless.

0:03:16 > 0:03:18Today almost everyone's heard of IVF,

0:03:18 > 0:03:22but in the 1970s the treatment was less well known.

0:03:24 > 0:03:29It was a sheer fluke I read it in The Lancet at a friend's house.

0:03:29 > 0:03:32It was just on the coffee table and I opened it up

0:03:32 > 0:03:34and read this article.

0:03:34 > 0:03:38When I related it to my situation, I realised that this is me,

0:03:38 > 0:03:41it's exactly what I've just gone through

0:03:41 > 0:03:44and I just thought, if there's any chance at all,

0:03:44 > 0:03:48I hope I can have that chance, to have my own baby.

0:03:52 > 0:03:55Grace was accepted onto this ground-breaking programme.

0:03:57 > 0:04:00She was sent to a small cottage hospital

0:04:00 > 0:04:01called Dr Kershaw's in Oldham

0:04:01 > 0:04:07along with around 20 other women who were also taking part in the experiments.

0:04:07 > 0:04:11These experiments had already sparked controversy.

0:04:11 > 0:04:13People thought test-tube baby,

0:04:13 > 0:04:16that meant the actual baby grew in a test tube

0:04:16 > 0:04:19right until it was mature.

0:04:19 > 0:04:22They were certainly working on something

0:04:22 > 0:04:25that a lot of people did disagree with.

0:04:26 > 0:04:29To protect Grace and the rest of the group from this media spotlight,

0:04:29 > 0:04:32they were asked to keep the trials a secret.

0:04:35 > 0:04:38I used to travel down and even my parents had no idea.

0:04:38 > 0:04:42I think my mum thought I had some strange disease,

0:04:42 > 0:04:46that I had to go down south to have treatment for

0:04:46 > 0:04:48because I couldn't tell them.

0:04:50 > 0:04:54In this unassuming building, a revolution was taking place.

0:04:54 > 0:04:56Edwards and Steptoe believed

0:04:56 > 0:04:59that if they could remove an egg from the womb,

0:04:59 > 0:05:01fertilise it outside the womb and then replace it,

0:05:01 > 0:05:04these women might fall pregnant.

0:05:05 > 0:05:08I never thought of it as being strange or...

0:05:08 > 0:05:13Just fantastic that someone had actually thought of doing this

0:05:13 > 0:05:17and someone with the calibre of brain of Bob Edwards

0:05:17 > 0:05:19because he'd worked on it for years.

0:05:19 > 0:05:23Grace and the other women on the programme were guinea pigs,

0:05:23 > 0:05:28but if this worked, it would give them everything they ever wanted.

0:05:28 > 0:05:31I believed so much in both of them, like we all did,

0:05:31 > 0:05:34all the girls who were on the programme.

0:05:34 > 0:05:39We would've done anything for them because we just trusted them

0:05:39 > 0:05:42and knew that they were trying their best for us.

0:05:44 > 0:05:46After one failed attempt,

0:05:46 > 0:05:49Grace finally got the news she was hoping for.

0:05:49 > 0:05:53In the spring of '78, she was told she was pregnant.

0:05:53 > 0:05:58I could've literally swung from the rafters. I was so elated.

0:05:58 > 0:05:59I just couldn't believe it.

0:06:01 > 0:06:04Grace went home to continue her pregnancy.

0:06:04 > 0:06:08It would be an anxious wait to see if everything was OK.

0:06:11 > 0:06:14Then, a few months later, there was some major news.

0:06:14 > 0:06:17BABY SCREAMS

0:06:17 > 0:06:20Baby Brown at 20 seconds.

0:06:20 > 0:06:23Another woman on the programme had given birth to a baby girl,

0:06:23 > 0:06:25called Louise Brown.

0:06:27 > 0:06:28It's all right.

0:06:28 > 0:06:31And the two pioneers were at the birth.

0:06:33 > 0:06:36Huge excitement for the whole family

0:06:36 > 0:06:39and disbelief that after all this time

0:06:39 > 0:06:43it would finally come to Louise Brown.

0:06:45 > 0:06:50I was so delighted when Louise was born because it gave me hope

0:06:50 > 0:06:53that everything was going to be all right.

0:06:54 > 0:06:56And it was all right.

0:06:56 > 0:07:00Just a few months later, Grace gave birth to a healthy boy.

0:07:04 > 0:07:06Oh, it was the most amazing feeling.

0:07:06 > 0:07:12I felt I'd been given the moon. You know, everything I'd ever wanted.

0:07:16 > 0:07:20At long last, you're here and you're mine. It was wonderful.

0:07:23 > 0:07:25It was another triumph for the two pioneers.

0:07:29 > 0:07:33I don't think there's ever a day I don't thank both of them

0:07:33 > 0:07:35for what they gave me.

0:07:35 > 0:07:40We've stayed very close to Bob Edwards and his family

0:07:40 > 0:07:43and as Alastair puts it, he's his hero.

0:07:46 > 0:07:48As the world's first IVF boy and girl

0:07:48 > 0:07:51Alastair and Louise have become firm friends.

0:07:51 > 0:07:54But they were just the start of the revolution.

0:07:54 > 0:07:55ALL: Yeah!

0:07:55 > 0:07:58Since those early experiments, Edwards and Steptoe went on

0:07:58 > 0:08:00to set up the world's very first IVF clinic.

0:08:05 > 0:08:10Now, over four million IVF babies have been born worldwide.

0:08:10 > 0:08:14And all of them owe their life to those pioneering trials

0:08:14 > 0:08:16back in the late '70s.

0:08:16 > 0:08:21They all regard Dad as a father figure and I just think...

0:08:21 > 0:08:23he's just an amazing person.

0:08:25 > 0:08:28To have been in right at the very start,

0:08:28 > 0:08:32I just still can't quite believe my luck.

0:08:32 > 0:08:35So yes, I'm very, very lucky and very grateful

0:08:35 > 0:08:40that I've been blessed with that opportunity and with my son.

0:08:50 > 0:08:54And Grace MacDonald's here with us in the Picture Of Health surgery.

0:08:54 > 0:08:57- Hello, Grace.- Hello. - What a wonderful film.

0:08:57 > 0:09:01Were you all much of an age, all you girls?

0:09:01 > 0:09:02Were you sort of similar ages?

0:09:02 > 0:09:05Yes, I think most of us

0:09:05 > 0:09:09had gone through obviously a few years of being childless

0:09:09 > 0:09:12so yes, I would say we were all roughly about the same age.

0:09:12 > 0:09:16Must've been extraordinary, and all from different parts of the country?

0:09:16 > 0:09:20- Yes.- Did it all just sort of become like a club?

0:09:20 > 0:09:22Yes, we used to call ourselves the Ovum Club!

0:09:22 > 0:09:24BOTH LAUGH

0:09:26 > 0:09:27Did you actually get involved

0:09:27 > 0:09:30in any of the stories at all yourself, Fiona?

0:09:30 > 0:09:32I was a raw reporter then

0:09:32 > 0:09:35so no, this was a big national news story and I was working on

0:09:35 > 0:09:38a local radio station covering flower shows, things like that.

0:09:38 > 0:09:43It was way out of my league, but it was a sensational story.

0:09:43 > 0:09:45It went right around the world.

0:09:45 > 0:09:48News bulletins, headlines in every newspaper.

0:09:48 > 0:09:52It was on a par, really, I think, with man landing on the moon.

0:09:52 > 0:09:57- It was huge.- Absolutely, and it's interesting, the bit in the film that talks about people

0:09:57 > 0:10:02thinking about it being a baby raised in a test tube. I still remember feeling like that.

0:10:02 > 0:10:05- How will they get that baby in? - That was the headline.

0:10:05 > 0:10:09That's what it seemed like to me. So it's a very valid point,

0:10:09 > 0:10:12people were, sort of mystified by it, weren't they?

0:10:12 > 0:10:17What would you have done with your life had you not had a baby?

0:10:17 > 0:10:22It would've been totally different and not nearly so fulfilling

0:10:22 > 0:10:27- if I didn't have Alastair in my life.- Ha-ha, fantastic!

0:10:27 > 0:10:30What an extraordinary story, thank you.

0:10:30 > 0:10:31You're very welcome.

0:10:35 > 0:10:38In a few short years, some diseases and illnesses

0:10:38 > 0:10:40that were a potentially deadly fact of life

0:10:40 > 0:10:43have almost been entirely wiped out in Britain.

0:10:43 > 0:10:46TB is one such illness.

0:10:51 > 0:10:53A big ceremony in St George's Square opens Glasgow's

0:10:53 > 0:10:56five-week campaign against tuberculosis.

0:10:56 > 0:11:00In the 1940s, the whole of Britain began a campaign.

0:11:00 > 0:11:05It was campaign to find people who had the deadly disease, TB.

0:11:06 > 0:11:10Any of these people, without knowing it, may be harbouring this germ,

0:11:10 > 0:11:12any one or all.

0:11:14 > 0:11:17And two people found to be carrying the disease

0:11:17 > 0:11:20were Charlie Townsend and Keith Easter.

0:11:21 > 0:11:25'My father died in 1934 with tuberculosis.

0:11:25 > 0:11:27'I was four years old.'

0:11:27 > 0:11:32And mum died of tuberculosis in 1948.

0:11:34 > 0:11:39I was in the army when I developed TB but it was a terrible disease.

0:11:42 > 0:11:46In the poor conditions that still existed in our towns and cities,

0:11:46 > 0:11:48tuberculosis was rife.

0:11:50 > 0:11:54It was a highly contagious disease with deadly consequences.

0:11:57 > 0:12:01About 80% of people who contracted TB affecting their lungs

0:12:01 > 0:12:04would be dead within, say, five years of their first symptom.

0:12:04 > 0:12:07People with TB were socially isolated

0:12:07 > 0:12:09because you wouldn't want necessarily

0:12:09 > 0:12:12to have somebody with a disease, which might kill you,

0:12:12 > 0:12:14next-door or the train or whatever.

0:12:16 > 0:12:18TB was a vicious illness that eroded the lungs

0:12:18 > 0:12:23but it could be detected by the emerging technology of X-ray.

0:12:23 > 0:12:26The subject stands with head up tilted on a chin rest,

0:12:26 > 0:12:29chest flat against a polished square plate, takes a deep breath

0:12:29 > 0:12:31and holds it for two seconds.

0:12:31 > 0:12:34After such an X-ray confirmed they were carrying TB,

0:12:34 > 0:12:37Charlie and Keith were whisked away from their homes.

0:12:42 > 0:12:45They would have to begin a new life in an isolation hospital

0:12:45 > 0:12:47called a sanatorium.

0:12:49 > 0:12:52Here they would begin years of treatment

0:12:52 > 0:12:55with no guarantee that it would ever work.

0:13:00 > 0:13:04- Cos this was the Princess Hospital, wasn't it, Charlie?- Yes, over there.

0:13:04 > 0:13:09Cos the men's hospital further down was exactly the same shape.

0:13:11 > 0:13:14Peaceful now, but in the 1940s,

0:13:14 > 0:13:17it was a place where people were dying on daily basis.

0:13:22 > 0:13:25'I suppose I saw hundreds die, really.'

0:13:25 > 0:13:29I had one boy sit on my bed one night. He said, I'll see you in the morning, Charlie.

0:13:29 > 0:13:31I said, all right, mate, I'm going to bed now, he said.

0:13:31 > 0:13:33He'd gone in the night, died.

0:13:33 > 0:13:35They call it spontaneous collapse,

0:13:35 > 0:13:39both his lungs collapsed together and he'd gone.

0:13:39 > 0:13:40It was a terrible disease, really.

0:13:43 > 0:13:46At that time there was no real cure for TB.

0:13:46 > 0:13:49Faced with a disease that was still killing thousands every year,

0:13:49 > 0:13:53doctors were trialling many different treatments.

0:13:53 > 0:13:57One theory was that something as simple as fresh air might just help.

0:13:59 > 0:14:02Fresh air was good because it was the opposite of what was then

0:14:02 > 0:14:05the big industrial cities of the 19th century

0:14:05 > 0:14:07where the slums were being built up,

0:14:07 > 0:14:09the standard of living was really poor for many people.

0:14:09 > 0:14:13So the fresh air was the opposite of that, thought to be healthy.

0:14:13 > 0:14:18- You had treatment, but basically you need plenty of fresh air. - Fresh air, that was the main thing.

0:14:18 > 0:14:20- And sunshine.- Yeah.

0:14:20 > 0:14:22I used to just lay there on the veranda

0:14:22 > 0:14:25and them nurses would come around, see if I was all right.

0:14:28 > 0:14:33It was a dull existence, and nurses had to work hard to keep spirits up.

0:14:34 > 0:14:39The nurses were nurses in them days. Now they're half-doctors, things like that, ain't got time.

0:14:39 > 0:14:42In them days, they looked after you and nursed you.

0:14:44 > 0:14:46But it wasn't just about fresh air and rest.

0:14:46 > 0:14:51Both men had to face months of painful treatment.

0:14:51 > 0:14:53For Keith, doctors needed to try and save his lungs

0:14:53 > 0:14:56which were slowly being destroyed.

0:14:58 > 0:15:02The diseased part is shown black. For this part to get better,

0:15:02 > 0:15:06the lung must be rested by a method called pneumothorax or "lung rest".

0:15:06 > 0:15:10They used to collapse your lung, you'd have this needle stuck between your ribs

0:15:10 > 0:15:13and they'd force air in to push your lung down

0:15:13 > 0:15:16and you have to have that refilled every week

0:15:16 > 0:15:18for about two years, I had mine.

0:15:19 > 0:15:23A TB infection in the lungs is very destructive.

0:15:23 > 0:15:26What happens is that bits of the lung die

0:15:26 > 0:15:29and this leaves holes or cavities or abscesses in the lungs.

0:15:29 > 0:15:33It was realised that if the walls of these cavities could be got together

0:15:33 > 0:15:38so that there was no air or oxygen for the TB bacteria to rely on,

0:15:38 > 0:15:42that their growth rate slowed down or they may even die off completely

0:15:42 > 0:15:45and this really was the first big breakthrough.

0:15:45 > 0:15:49Joan is being given her lung rest under local anaesthetic.

0:15:49 > 0:15:52Now her sick lung will have a chance to heal.

0:15:55 > 0:16:00In the 1940s and '50s, thousands were dying from TB every year.

0:16:00 > 0:16:03Keith and Charlie were lucky. They were found in time

0:16:03 > 0:16:06and were eventually strong enough to leave the ward.

0:16:06 > 0:16:09But they were still nowhere near well enough

0:16:09 > 0:16:11to leave the confines of the sanatorium.

0:16:11 > 0:16:14So they were moved into a purpose-built shed

0:16:14 > 0:16:15called a TB Hut.

0:16:17 > 0:16:22'There are about 100 of these shelters in the sanatorium section so he won't be lonely.'

0:16:26 > 0:16:30They were tiny and primitive, but still a welcome change for Keith

0:16:30 > 0:16:32who'd spent nine months on a hospital ward.

0:16:36 > 0:16:38Your bed would be there.

0:16:38 > 0:16:43Here was just a little table where you'd stand your cup of tea in the morning or whatever, you know.

0:16:43 > 0:16:48And here was sort of a three-cornered wardrobe

0:16:48 > 0:16:51and chest of drawers here. And that was it.

0:16:54 > 0:16:57It opened up all the way round. All you left was four posts

0:16:57 > 0:17:00which in the sun was absolutely gorgeous.

0:17:00 > 0:17:04Pretty cold in the winter, but you got used to it.

0:17:04 > 0:17:07I can never remember being cold.

0:17:07 > 0:17:10I had fun in here, it was really good. I enjoyed it.

0:17:15 > 0:17:17When you've got better in the hospital,

0:17:17 > 0:17:19you'll begin to do a bit of work again.

0:17:19 > 0:17:23There's a fine cabinet shop there, an upholstery section

0:17:23 > 0:17:25and a rather interesting sign-writing department.

0:17:25 > 0:17:27JAUNTY MUSIC PLAYS

0:17:27 > 0:17:29As their health improved,

0:17:29 > 0:17:32Keith and Charlie were encouraged to get out and about.

0:17:32 > 0:17:35And it wasn't long before the young men began to get up to

0:17:35 > 0:17:37a little bit mischief.

0:17:37 > 0:17:41- Girls used to invite us up to their house!- It was good fun, really.

0:17:41 > 0:17:45I had a girlfriend in there. The old lady come in one day, I was sitting on her bed.

0:17:45 > 0:17:48She said, "Get off that bed!" She was very strict!

0:17:48 > 0:17:52We were all young and we enjoyed life, really.

0:17:52 > 0:17:54- Happy days.- Yeah.

0:17:56 > 0:17:59Keith and Charlie were both cured of their TB

0:17:59 > 0:18:03thanks to the introduction of the antibiotic, streptomycin.

0:18:07 > 0:18:10- VOICEOVER:- 'These are the final stages of preparation

0:18:10 > 0:18:15'of the wonder drug, science's latest weapon against some forms of tuberculosis.'

0:18:18 > 0:18:22But they had spent years living in an institution.

0:18:22 > 0:18:27When it came time for them to leave, they found it impossible to say goodbye.

0:18:27 > 0:18:31- It WAS a family.- That's why people say to me, "When war was over, why didn't you go home?"

0:18:31 > 0:18:35A lot of them went home then, you see.

0:18:35 > 0:18:39I said, "I've got a good job at the printers that I love and I've got lovely mates."

0:18:39 > 0:18:44We'd go out and have a few beers, you know.

0:18:44 > 0:18:47It just felt I'm here and I knew everything was fine here,

0:18:47 > 0:18:49you could get married, and get a house.

0:18:49 > 0:18:51So I stayed here as well and I'm glad I did.

0:18:53 > 0:18:57Keith and Charlie have now made their own families in the local village.

0:18:57 > 0:19:00But they will never forget the devastating disease of TB

0:19:00 > 0:19:05and how living in a sanatorium has changed them for ever.

0:19:08 > 0:19:12I think it saved a lot of people's lives, I know that.

0:19:14 > 0:19:16It's a wonderful place, the way it was run and everything.

0:19:16 > 0:19:20- Got a lot to be thankful for. - Yeah, we have - we're still here.

0:19:27 > 0:19:32Keith is here with Fiona and I, in the Picture Of Health surgery.

0:19:32 > 0:19:38The thing for me is that wonderful sense of camaraderie

0:19:38 > 0:19:40that built up between you.

0:19:40 > 0:19:44I can't believe it, it was wonderful, it really was.

0:19:44 > 0:19:47We had good times, you know, it was marvellous.

0:19:47 > 0:19:51How long were you and Charlie actually together?

0:19:51 > 0:19:55Charlie is older than me - he's 90, and I'm 80-odd.

0:19:55 > 0:19:59We've known each other for years. There's not many of us left.

0:19:59 > 0:20:03We're like The Last of the Mohicans, not many of us here now!

0:20:03 > 0:20:07Do you have any idea how you actually contracted TB?

0:20:07 > 0:20:11You look at those pictures and it's people living in tenements,

0:20:11 > 0:20:15and you're a country boy, I would've thought, are you not?

0:20:15 > 0:20:19Yes, but the house I was born in, that was a yard.

0:20:19 > 0:20:23There was no electricity, no water, no toilets.

0:20:23 > 0:20:28But Dad died with it and when I was five, I had my first X-ray.

0:20:28 > 0:20:31That frightened the life out of me because I lay on this floor

0:20:31 > 0:20:34with this great thing coming down from the ceiling...

0:20:34 > 0:20:38- On the floor? - Yeah, with a steel sheet.

0:20:38 > 0:20:42I don't know how I got the X-ray, someone must have paid for it.

0:20:42 > 0:20:46And then I never heard any more until I was 19.

0:20:46 > 0:20:51I got a letter to say... I can't remember what it actually said

0:20:51 > 0:20:56because when I got to Papworth, I went to see this chap in charge,

0:20:56 > 0:21:01the nurse in charge, and he said, "Who's your next of kin?"

0:21:01 > 0:21:06I thought, "Am I going to die?!" Then straight to bed for nine months, well, up and down.

0:21:06 > 0:21:12- Did it touch any of your family at all, Fiona?- Happily not. I was born in the '50s

0:21:12 > 0:21:16so this cure began to come about roundabout that stage.

0:21:16 > 0:21:20But I do remember my grandmother talking about people who'd had TB

0:21:20 > 0:21:24and I do remember her mentioning certain people had died.

0:21:24 > 0:21:28What a frightening thing it must have been in those days,

0:21:28 > 0:21:32because you knew if you'd got it, there was probably only one way out.

0:21:32 > 0:21:35- You were incredibly lucky, Keith. - Yeah, I was.

0:21:35 > 0:21:38I was caught early. As I said, I didn't even know I had TB.

0:21:38 > 0:21:44- There was very definitely a stigma attached to having TB.- There was.

0:21:44 > 0:21:48Which is sad, really, because you can't help getting it.

0:21:48 > 0:21:52A lot of people were poor, we were pretty poor,

0:21:52 > 0:21:57you didn't get the right food, which doesn't help, does it?

0:21:57 > 0:22:01I can't say I'm sorry about what happened, I've had a good life,

0:22:01 > 0:22:04met Charlie and many buddies.

0:22:04 > 0:22:10- I was his friend for life. - Thank you for sharing that with us. It was lovely, thank you.

0:22:10 > 0:22:12Thank you very much.

0:22:15 > 0:22:18AIDS has been around now for almost 30 years,

0:22:18 > 0:22:21but thanks to remarkable advances,

0:22:21 > 0:22:25it's now understood, and in many cases, treatable.

0:22:25 > 0:22:29But in the 1980s, that was far from being the case.

0:22:32 > 0:22:37In the early 1980s, Britain was in fear of a new killer disease.

0:22:37 > 0:22:40This is the worst infectious disease epidemic to confront Europe,

0:22:40 > 0:22:41the Western world.

0:22:43 > 0:22:49Cases had been recorded in the largely gay communities of America.

0:22:49 > 0:22:53And now Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS,

0:22:53 > 0:22:55had come to the UK, too.

0:22:55 > 0:22:58Doctors from all over Britain have met to discuss AIDS.

0:22:59 > 0:23:02Rumours spread like wildfire.

0:23:02 > 0:23:05AIDS can be caught by kissing someone.

0:23:05 > 0:23:08The hysteria reached fever pitch.

0:23:10 > 0:23:13It's very much regarded as a fatal illness for the gay community.

0:23:15 > 0:23:18But by blaming the gay community and ignoring the real risks,

0:23:18 > 0:23:22people were putting themselves in more danger.

0:23:22 > 0:23:26AIDS now became the dreaded thing you hardly mentioned.

0:23:28 > 0:23:34Amidst all this rumour and ignorance were those faced with the reality.

0:23:34 > 0:23:36People like Jonathan Grimshaw.

0:23:41 > 0:23:46It was February 1984 and, um...

0:23:46 > 0:23:51I think I was one of the first people in the country to be diagnosed.

0:23:55 > 0:23:59When Jonathan was diagnosed as being HIV-positive, it was a time

0:23:59 > 0:24:02when no-one fully understood this virus.

0:24:02 > 0:24:07'It seems to knock out the body's natural defences. Research is aimed at finding out what causes AIDS,

0:24:07 > 0:24:09'but at present no-one knows.'

0:24:09 > 0:24:13And even those closest to him found it hard to come to terms with.

0:24:15 > 0:24:18I was really having a bad time,

0:24:18 > 0:24:23I wasn't reacting well at all to the news. I was very upset

0:24:23 > 0:24:28and I wanted to get away from things and spend a few days with my family.

0:24:28 > 0:24:30So I called them and they said...

0:24:30 > 0:24:36I had a younger brother at the time who must've been in his teens,

0:24:36 > 0:24:42and they said, "We are worried that could he catch something from you?"

0:24:42 > 0:24:46They didn't want me to come home because they were so anxious

0:24:46 > 0:24:51about the possibility of my little brother being able

0:24:51 > 0:24:54to pick something up from me. So I was very upset.

0:24:56 > 0:24:59HIV is a virus that can cause AIDS.

0:25:03 > 0:25:08As cases rose, many newspapers began to use the gay community as a scapegoat.

0:25:12 > 0:25:16When AIDS first came to light, I remember reading things like,

0:25:16 > 0:25:18"the gay plague".

0:25:18 > 0:25:22It was the biggest scaremongering I have ever seen.

0:25:26 > 0:25:30"Towns of Terror." This is from The Sun in November '86.

0:25:30 > 0:25:34This is exactly the kind of coverage

0:25:34 > 0:25:37that got people really anxious and frightened

0:25:37 > 0:25:41of the gay community, by making it seem as though

0:25:41 > 0:25:45the gay community is in some way to blame for HIV.

0:25:47 > 0:25:49When AIDS first came in,

0:25:49 > 0:25:51people didn't know anything about it,

0:25:51 > 0:25:54the scientists knew very little about it.

0:25:54 > 0:25:56And people were frightened.

0:25:56 > 0:26:00The press certainly went for sensationalism and got it.

0:26:00 > 0:26:04'The AIDS problem has given the popular press the best scare story for decades.

0:26:04 > 0:26:08'Small matter that only 500 people have the disease here,

0:26:08 > 0:26:12'nor that relatively simple safeguards can curb its spread.

0:26:12 > 0:26:17'Doctors who specialise in AIDS have an unequivocal view of the press coverage.'

0:26:17 > 0:26:19Shameful, frankly.

0:26:19 > 0:26:26It has stigmatised and alienated people who suffer from a very unpleasant disease.

0:26:26 > 0:26:30The issue of misleading, misinforming the public

0:26:30 > 0:26:34about the roots of spread and not informing about the real roots.

0:26:37 > 0:26:40People were starting to believe what they read

0:26:40 > 0:26:42and sometimes this was leading to hate.

0:26:44 > 0:26:49Because it was tied to homosexuality and called the gay plague,

0:26:49 > 0:26:52gays were really mistreated.

0:26:53 > 0:26:58I was nervous. I remember, um...

0:26:58 > 0:27:03If I go on the Tube, I would not stand near the edge of the platform

0:27:03 > 0:27:07because I knew that there were people who were...

0:27:08 > 0:27:10Er... They were nutcases!

0:27:12 > 0:27:13Hello and good afternoon.

0:27:13 > 0:27:16The disease is spreading, as yet there's no cure,

0:27:16 > 0:27:19and the problem for the politicians is getting worse.

0:27:20 > 0:27:22By the mid-1980s,

0:27:22 > 0:27:25there was a real worry that things could get out of control.

0:27:25 > 0:27:30Whatever we do now, it is likely that as many as 4,000 people

0:27:30 > 0:27:34will have died of AIDS in the United Kingdom by the end of this decade.

0:27:37 > 0:27:40Many people thought you had to be gay to catch HIV

0:27:40 > 0:27:43and were ignoring the facts.

0:27:45 > 0:27:48It is as easily caught through heterosexual contact

0:27:48 > 0:27:53as homosexual contact, if your contact happens to be an infected person.

0:27:53 > 0:27:57Everybody in Britain needed to be warned about the real dangers

0:27:57 > 0:28:00and told how to take precautions.

0:28:00 > 0:28:03A government committee was set up.

0:28:03 > 0:28:05Jonathan was asked to advise.

0:28:05 > 0:28:09The government needed to use language that the public would understand,

0:28:09 > 0:28:12and so it needed to be quite explicit

0:28:12 > 0:28:15about talking about sexual practices

0:28:15 > 0:28:19that could expose people to the virus

0:28:19 > 0:28:24because the experience from within the gay community up to that point

0:28:24 > 0:28:27was that you needed to call a spade a spade

0:28:27 > 0:28:31if people were really going to understand what you were talking about.

0:28:31 > 0:28:35Good evening. The government is going to spend £20 million

0:28:35 > 0:28:40over the next couple of months, warning the country about the danger of AIDS.

0:28:40 > 0:28:45This was a campaign designed to finally put the record straight.

0:28:45 > 0:28:48Newspapers will carry the message in stark terms,

0:28:48 > 0:28:53pointing out, among other things, that you don't have to be promiscuous to catch AIDS.

0:28:54 > 0:28:58And it was designed to really grab the whole country's attention.

0:29:00 > 0:29:04There's now a danger that has become a threat to us all.

0:29:04 > 0:29:07It needed a mighty powerful message to say, look,

0:29:07 > 0:29:10this could happen to anybody if you don't take precautions,

0:29:10 > 0:29:13and that message came out in this very hard-hitting commercial.

0:29:13 > 0:29:14It was brilliant.

0:29:14 > 0:29:19The virus can be passed during sexual intercourse with an infected person.

0:29:19 > 0:29:23Anyone can get it, man or woman.

0:29:23 > 0:29:27So far, it's been confined to small groups, but it's spreading.

0:29:27 > 0:29:31And there was that huge thing breaking through the crust of the Earth. "AIDS!"

0:29:31 > 0:29:33And you knew that could kill you.

0:29:33 > 0:29:38So protect yourself, and read this leaflet when it arrives.

0:29:38 > 0:29:42If you ignore AIDS, it could be the death of you,

0:29:42 > 0:29:44so don't die of ignorance.

0:29:45 > 0:29:49The commercial and leaflet aimed to shatter the myths surrounding HIV and AIDS,

0:29:49 > 0:29:53but also educate Britain about taking proper precautions.

0:29:55 > 0:29:57For Jonathan, it worked.

0:29:57 > 0:29:59Nothing like it had happened before

0:29:59 > 0:30:03so I think none of us quite knew what the reaction was going to be,

0:30:03 > 0:30:05but in fact it was OK,

0:30:05 > 0:30:10and conveyed accurately how the disease was passed on

0:30:10 > 0:30:15so hopefully it would be diminishing the kind of vacuum of ignorance

0:30:15 > 0:30:19in which the sort of stigma against people which HIV rose.

0:30:20 > 0:30:23But that wasn't the end of the crusade.

0:30:23 > 0:30:25More awareness campaigns followed.

0:30:25 > 0:30:28AIDS week was launched in Bristol today.

0:30:28 > 0:30:33Campaigners are desperate to convince the public that AIDS is an issue for everyone.

0:30:35 > 0:30:40Today, HIV is still a threat and will claim more lives,

0:30:40 > 0:30:43but Britain is now much more aware of the real risks,

0:30:43 > 0:30:47and now, as a result, we're all better protected.

0:30:47 > 0:30:51People are still contracting HIV, sadly in far too many numbers,

0:30:51 > 0:30:54but nowhere near the numbers they would have contracted it.

0:30:54 > 0:30:57It would have spread through our community, our country,

0:30:57 > 0:30:59and the world as an absolute pandemic

0:30:59 > 0:31:02if not for campaigns like the one in this country in the '80s.

0:31:09 > 0:31:12It really was something, wasn't it?

0:31:12 > 0:31:14I'm sitting here squirming a bit actually

0:31:14 > 0:31:18because I'm looking at all those reports in the newspapers, being a journalist,

0:31:18 > 0:31:23and even the television, the way they sensationalised everything.

0:31:23 > 0:31:28Gay plague and, er... Yes, I'm rather uncomfortable with that.

0:31:28 > 0:31:31Yes, and all that chat and all that explicit stuff

0:31:31 > 0:31:36that was being discussed on the television openly, you know?

0:31:36 > 0:31:39This was very odd because people think of the swinging '60s

0:31:39 > 0:31:42and then the '70s, we all got a bit raunchier, etc,

0:31:42 > 0:31:48but even in the '80s, I still remember it mentioning homosexuality, really discussing it,

0:31:48 > 0:31:52it was still something you didn't put on national television, really.

0:31:52 > 0:31:54No. It really did change things, didn't it?

0:31:54 > 0:31:58But gradually, I suppose the other side of all this public information

0:31:58 > 0:32:05was it put you wise to the fact that really this was something... You wouldn't just pick it up, you know,

0:32:05 > 0:32:11it was something that you got if you did things in a certain way, you know?

0:32:11 > 0:32:18Certainly, for my generation, I was in my sort of mid to late 20s when this started coming about,

0:32:18 > 0:32:23and I remember seeing some of those adverts and being taken short,

0:32:23 > 0:32:27and thinking, "We have to start thinking here about casual relationships

0:32:27 > 0:32:30"and casual sex and things like that."

0:32:30 > 0:32:33- It really did hit home, it really put the message across.- Yes.

0:32:37 > 0:32:40In today's celebrity-obsessed world,

0:32:40 > 0:32:43having a winning smile is a great way of getting on in life,

0:32:43 > 0:32:48but, not too long ago, taking care of your teeth wasn't a priority at all.

0:32:51 > 0:32:57If you're afraid of the dentist, spare a thought for your ancestors.

0:32:57 > 0:33:02Before the NHS, having your teeth seen to was an expensive business.

0:33:03 > 0:33:08Availability of dentists to the general public was very limited

0:33:08 > 0:33:11because everything had to be paid for

0:33:11 > 0:33:17and it didn't come terribly highly in the priorities for a lot of people.

0:33:20 > 0:33:23So some people sought help closer to home.

0:33:25 > 0:33:29My father, if he had a toothache, he pulled his own tooth out.

0:33:29 > 0:33:32Put a piece of string round it,

0:33:32 > 0:33:37and I've known him to tie it onto the door handle and then close the door!

0:33:41 > 0:33:44With few people able to afford regular trips to the dentist,

0:33:44 > 0:33:47false teeth were often seen as the answer.

0:33:49 > 0:33:52Very often, when a young woman got married,

0:33:52 > 0:33:55she had all her teeth removed.

0:33:55 > 0:33:58They thought, well, once she'd got rid of them,

0:33:58 > 0:34:01there wouldn't be any problem with bad teeth or anything else,

0:34:01 > 0:34:05and she'd have a full denture as a wedding present.

0:34:08 > 0:34:13It was almost accepted that, by the time you were in your... certainly 50s, 60s,

0:34:13 > 0:34:15that you wouldn't have any teeth left,

0:34:15 > 0:34:21and you'd have your plastic teeth in the jar beside the bed at night.

0:34:21 > 0:34:26I know my father, when he came back after the war, he had his teeth out,

0:34:26 > 0:34:30and he used to arrive home from work

0:34:30 > 0:34:32and he'd put them in a mug.

0:34:32 > 0:34:34I'd say, "What do you do that for, Dad?"

0:34:34 > 0:34:38He said, "They've been working all day, they need a rest!"

0:34:40 > 0:34:43But, in 1948 came a free service

0:34:43 > 0:34:46that would change the way we cared for our teeth.

0:34:47 > 0:34:51This leaflet is coming through your letterbox one day soon.

0:34:51 > 0:34:55It tells you what the new National Health Service is

0:34:55 > 0:34:57and how you can use what it offers.

0:34:57 > 0:35:00It was time for the dentists to get to work.

0:35:05 > 0:35:10When the NHS first came in, the dentists became exceedingly busy.

0:35:13 > 0:35:15A dentist was paid per tooth

0:35:15 > 0:35:21and obviously, the more teeth you removed, the more money you earned.

0:35:24 > 0:35:27So, very often, healthy teeth would be removed

0:35:27 > 0:35:30because they would be remunerated for it.

0:35:31 > 0:35:34And with teeth coming out, replacements needed to be made.

0:35:34 > 0:35:37Our shelves were full.

0:35:37 > 0:35:40There was one set of dentures sitting next to another one,

0:35:40 > 0:35:43waiting to be completed.

0:35:43 > 0:35:46There were some very, very grateful patients.

0:35:51 > 0:35:53In its first nine months,

0:35:53 > 0:35:57the NHS supplied 33 million artificial teeth.

0:36:00 > 0:36:04The huge demand took the government by surprise and was costing a fortune.

0:36:04 > 0:36:07In the 1950s, a new direction was needed.

0:36:07 > 0:36:10The philosophy of the NHS,

0:36:10 > 0:36:17which was really a repair service rather than a health service,

0:36:17 > 0:36:21changed and it became... Prevention became the flavour of the month.

0:36:21 > 0:36:25Here at the dental unit of a London hospital,

0:36:25 > 0:36:28they try to make a treat out of treatment.

0:36:28 > 0:36:31The government campaigned to get people to care for their teeth,

0:36:31 > 0:36:34and decided the best way forward was to catch them young.

0:36:34 > 0:36:37Dentists hope they won't grow up like their parents,

0:36:37 > 0:36:40whose dental bill to the state is about £20 million a year.

0:36:40 > 0:36:44The most stress is laid on prevention by dental attention rather than cure.

0:36:44 > 0:36:48Some councils went to extraordinary lengths to get the message through.

0:36:48 > 0:36:51Hot on the trail of toothache in Kent is a new kind of dental service

0:36:51 > 0:36:54for children in out-of-the-way country districts.

0:36:54 > 0:36:56The dental clinics on wheels

0:36:56 > 0:37:01are bringing modern and expert service to the children of the country.

0:37:04 > 0:37:05Despite a big push,

0:37:05 > 0:37:09in the '60s, tooth decay was still a major problem.

0:37:12 > 0:37:15And it was our children who were suffering the most.

0:37:15 > 0:37:18The mouths of two youngsters,

0:37:18 > 0:37:21one aged two and a half, the other aged 15.

0:37:21 > 0:37:25Their teeth were rotten and needed lots of attention.

0:37:28 > 0:37:30And soon the dentist chair...

0:37:30 > 0:37:34became a place of nightmares.

0:37:34 > 0:37:37One of the abiding memories of my childhood

0:37:37 > 0:37:40is waiting at the dentist, you're waiting outside,

0:37:40 > 0:37:44and you take a book or a comic and you're promised a lolly afterwards,

0:37:44 > 0:37:47and suddenly you hear, "Zrrrrrrr!"

0:37:47 > 0:37:52and the muffled cries of the child who's having his tooth filled inside.

0:37:54 > 0:37:56Children were terrified,

0:37:56 > 0:37:59and enticing them into the chair was no mean feat.

0:37:59 > 0:38:02When you had the teeth pulled out, the crunch...

0:38:02 > 0:38:06Cos they pulled it out. For a child, that's really horrible.

0:38:06 > 0:38:12Thankfully though, our dentists had a few tricks up their sleeves.

0:38:14 > 0:38:15Oh, I loved stickers.

0:38:17 > 0:38:21And children would say, "Oh, where's the sticker?"

0:38:22 > 0:38:25They could be used as bribes as well.

0:38:25 > 0:38:28"If you don't sit for two minutes you won't get a sticker."

0:38:30 > 0:38:31PAINED ROAR

0:38:31 > 0:38:35And with more and more people having access to a television,

0:38:35 > 0:38:39the government had a new way to capture our children's imagination.

0:38:39 > 0:38:41His mum should've taught him to clean his teeth every day.

0:38:41 > 0:38:45They could've been as clean as mine. Look!

0:38:45 > 0:38:46CHATTERS TEETH

0:38:46 > 0:38:48'Have a crocodile smile.'

0:38:52 > 0:38:54Throughout the '70s and '80s,

0:38:54 > 0:38:57the drive to improve Britain's smile gathered momentum.

0:38:57 > 0:39:01'Remember, whatever you eat, don't leave it on your teeth.'

0:39:03 > 0:39:07Our children were taught how to brush properly

0:39:07 > 0:39:09and the best food to eat for perfect teeth.

0:39:09 > 0:39:15'The dangers of sweets and hidden sugar in foods like sauces and fruit yogurts is emphasised.

0:39:15 > 0:39:19'Self help can reduce the need for dentists to intervene and repair rotten teeth.'

0:39:19 > 0:39:22MOTHER: Lovely and clean.

0:39:23 > 0:39:26Over the years our teeth did begin to improve.

0:39:26 > 0:39:30By the 1990s, over half of under fives had no tooth decay at all.

0:39:32 > 0:39:37So it seems the message about brushing well finally got through.

0:39:39 > 0:39:45I used to say to patients, "You have your teeth 365 days a year.

0:39:45 > 0:39:49"I see you for maybe 20 minutes a year.

0:39:49 > 0:39:54"You have much more influence on what happens to your teeth than me."

0:39:57 > 0:40:00And with less need for the dreaded drill,

0:40:00 > 0:40:03the dentist's chair is a much more pleasant place to be.

0:40:13 > 0:40:16How it's all changed, Fiona.

0:40:16 > 0:40:19For the better, for the better.

0:40:19 > 0:40:23I can remember, as a child, you would dread going to the dentist.

0:40:23 > 0:40:26For days before, you'd be in a state of panic cos you knew

0:40:26 > 0:40:28this man or woman was going to hurt you.

0:40:28 > 0:40:31- They were all men, never women. - They were generally all men.

0:40:31 > 0:40:35When you came out, your jaw would be aching like this

0:40:35 > 0:40:37and it would hurt for days after.

0:40:37 > 0:40:41The dentist was not my favourite place. And those needles!

0:40:41 > 0:40:44Maybe as a child it just seemed thicker and fatter,

0:40:44 > 0:40:49but it just seemed that these people were sadists that wanted to inflict pain on you.

0:40:49 > 0:40:53With all the equipment, it was a frightening environment, wasn't it?

0:40:53 > 0:40:58What about when they were raking around in there to find...

0:40:58 > 0:41:01I had a lot of cavities as a kid,

0:41:01 > 0:41:04so I made regular trips to the dentist for fillings

0:41:04 > 0:41:08with that dreadful old grinder drill they had.

0:41:08 > 0:41:11Every vibration went rattling through your body

0:41:11 > 0:41:14and it seemed to go on and on for ever.

0:41:14 > 0:41:16And you're just waiting for it to touch a nerve

0:41:16 > 0:41:19and grasping the edge of the seat like this.

0:41:19 > 0:41:23No injections. No injections for drilling.

0:41:23 > 0:41:25As the years went on, as our film showed,

0:41:25 > 0:41:29it became more on the prevention rather than just treating it.

0:41:29 > 0:41:31A thoroughly good thing.

0:41:31 > 0:41:33The children now want to have good teeth.

0:41:33 > 0:41:36- Absolutely.- And that lovely smile.

0:41:36 > 0:41:38Didn't come into it when I was a kid at all.

0:41:38 > 0:41:40- I don't mind going to the dentist now.- No.

0:41:40 > 0:41:43- In fact, I rather like the dentist. I thought I'd never say that.- Oh?

0:41:43 > 0:41:46- Yeah, I like my dentist. - I like mine.

0:41:46 > 0:41:48Thanks, Fiona. Thank you.

0:41:48 > 0:41:51Thank you very much. Great. Thank you.

0:41:56 > 0:42:00To find out more about how healthcare has changed from an Open University expert,

0:42:00 > 0:42:06go to bbc.co.uk/pictureofhealth and follow the links.

0:42:16 > 0:42:18Coming up next time...

0:42:18 > 0:42:21how two war veterans were helped back on their feet.

0:42:21 > 0:42:24That leg has been with me for 67 years.

0:42:26 > 0:42:29Amazing stories of how medical training used to be.

0:42:29 > 0:42:32Put this firework under the stove...

0:42:32 > 0:42:35Nearly blew him on his back for real!

0:42:37 > 0:42:39And the ads that taught us how to cross the road.

0:42:39 > 0:42:43When you get to the curb, always stop, stop, stop.

0:42:47 > 0:42:51And that's all from me today. Goodbye.

0:43:17 > 0:43:20Subtitles by Red Bee Media