0:00:00 > 0:00:02In this world of transplants, microsurgery
0:00:02 > 0:00:06and life-saving medicines, it's too easy to take for granted
0:00:06 > 0:00:08the amazing things our doctors do for us.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11We forget just how far we've come in our lifetime.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15So I'm going to take us on a journey to remind us how things used to be.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20I'm Larry Lamb. Welcome to A Picture Of Health.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47Coming up on A Picture Of Health, the changing role of our family GP.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51A doctor would come and you were always put in your mummy's bed.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56The ads that taught us how to cross the road.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01When you get to the curb, always stop, stop, stop!
0:01:01 > 0:01:05And Larry's special guest in the Picture Of Health surgery
0:01:05 > 0:01:09is Stuart Hall, who'll look back on his own medical memories.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11They just threw me in the ambulance.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Weren't designed for comfort, were they?
0:01:18 > 0:01:22Now, it's a sad fact that war and conflict bring with them
0:01:22 > 0:01:24death and serious injury.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Often, servicemen and women are so badly injured
0:01:27 > 0:01:28that they lose a limb.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33Today, modern technology comes to their aid and gets them moving again
0:01:33 > 0:01:35with super lightweight limbs.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37But that's not always been the case.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39JAZZ MUSIC
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Eric Harrison and Ian Walker enjoy nothing more
0:01:53 > 0:01:56than a quiet game of cards in the Legless Arms.
0:02:01 > 0:02:0670 years ago, they both answered the call to duty and paid a heavy price.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10They're just two of the 20,000 veterans from World War Two
0:02:10 > 0:02:13who lost a limb during the conflict.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19And instead of the steel and carbon used today,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23they relied on wood and leather to get them back on their feet.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31The Allied Invasion of Sicily was a major WWII campaign
0:02:31 > 0:02:34which saw over 5,000 service personnel killed
0:02:34 > 0:02:36and over 15,000 wounded.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43In 1943, Corporal Ian Walker was a section leader.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49We moved through the frontline
0:02:49 > 0:02:54and came up against a second line,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58and I was then immediately hit
0:02:58 > 0:03:00in the right side.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Ian had been shot in his thigh by machine gun fire.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11When I came to, because it knocked me out,
0:03:11 > 0:03:16the battle had passed over where I was
0:03:16 > 0:03:19and I could only hear it in the distance,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21the screams and shouts.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26I felt all over my body
0:03:26 > 0:03:30to try and find out what had happened to me
0:03:30 > 0:03:31and I found a horrible mess
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and obviously the bullets
0:03:34 > 0:03:39had done quite a lot of damage to my thigh.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43It was quite clear it was smashed.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51I just felt I was jolly lucky to be alive, really.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54There was nothing I could do.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58I just lay there and, as dawn broke,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02I could see a stretcher bearer party
0:04:02 > 0:04:04coming towards me.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09For Ian, the war was the over.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12He was rushed home to England where surgeons found
0:04:12 > 0:04:15he had developed gangrene.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20It was very difficult to bear.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26Like red hot needles being stuck into your thigh.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33I was losing weight very quickly,
0:04:33 > 0:04:38so they operated and took it off.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Eric Harrison is another veteran
0:04:44 > 0:04:47who lost a leg during WWII.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51He was in the Royal Navy on the minesweeping flotilla HMS Hussar,
0:04:51 > 0:04:52when it was bombed by friendly fire.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I could only remember it specifically
0:04:58 > 0:05:00because it was a lovely, sunny day
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and I was on the upper deck, reading a book.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12I had something hit my leg,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14something hit my shoulder,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and I couldn't seem to get up.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Somehow or other, I just jumped over the side I think.
0:05:24 > 0:05:2778 servicemen were killed when the Hussar was bombed.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30149 were wounded.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Eric was picked up by a passing Destroyer and taken home
0:05:35 > 0:05:38to receive urgent medical treatment on his leg.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42The surgeon said
0:05:42 > 0:05:46that they would have to take it off
0:05:46 > 0:05:51and I said, "Well, if that's what's got to be done,
0:05:51 > 0:05:52"t better be done."
0:05:55 > 0:05:58As young men, Eric and Ian had to come to terms
0:05:58 > 0:06:02with the fact that their bodies had changed forever.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06But they were not alone.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Queen Mary's in Roehampton was a military hospital
0:06:14 > 0:06:17opened during the first World War.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20It specifically treated servicemen
0:06:20 > 0:06:22who had lost a limb
0:06:22 > 0:06:26and became the world's leading amputee rehabilitation centre.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31In WWII, Roehampton would treat
0:06:31 > 0:06:35an incredible 20,000 limbless servicemen,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39among them Ian and Eric.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43I was rather shattered by seeing
0:06:43 > 0:06:48so many chaps who had had one, two,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52three limbs amputated. So I realised then
0:06:52 > 0:06:55that I was lucky in a way.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00I'd got a straight-forward one leg,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02limb, missing.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08After the trauma of surgery, both Eric and Ian were fitted
0:07:08 > 0:07:09with new false legs.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13You see they had to measure
0:07:13 > 0:07:16the actual limb and, again,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19many of the stumps were rather tender.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21They had to be careful
0:07:21 > 0:07:24that they'd got the socket ready,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28that it didn't impinge on the painful area.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Although prosthesis had progressed hugely
0:07:33 > 0:07:35since the First World War,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39the limbs Eric and Ian were given were still extremely cumbersome.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40This was my old leg,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44which I've only recently dispensed with.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47It's wood.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52This corset goes round the thigh.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55You can get some idea of the weight
0:07:55 > 0:07:59because I'm really straining to hold that leg.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02in that position because of the weight.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05To help with the weight,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07these heavy legs had an adjustable support
0:08:07 > 0:08:09which went round the shoulder.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14It had a strap fitted here
0:08:14 > 0:08:17which came up with a buckle on the end
0:08:17 > 0:08:21which you connected the shoulder strap to.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24It wasn't comfortable.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27You always had a pull on the shoulder.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Once their limbs were fitted,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Eric and Ian had to learn how to walk again.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39You practise by walking up and down
0:08:39 > 0:08:43between two parallel bars.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48As far as I can remember, I coped with that quite well.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52But what helped everyone at the centre
0:08:52 > 0:08:54was the camaraderie among the veterans.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58The mere fact there were a lot of them,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00there was a competitive spirit.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02But they were a cheery lot.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09There is a lot of humour in this, quite honestly.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13There was one man who lost his leg. "Oh, I lost my leg!"
0:09:13 > 0:09:16"All right for you, chum - I've lost both!" You know?
0:09:20 > 0:09:24I was in the prime of my life at that time
0:09:24 > 0:09:29and found that I got better and better.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36But these old legs were still not without their little niggles.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39The hinges, they were the bane of my life
0:09:39 > 0:09:41because they used to get noisy
0:09:41 > 0:09:44You walked down the street and you were clicking away.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47LEG CLINKS
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Some people would look and you'd think, "Marvellous so-and-so's!"
0:09:51 > 0:09:54It's no good looking at them and complaining.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57You've got no option, you see.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00You've got to get used to this leg.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07The companionship of both war and in hospital
0:10:07 > 0:10:09has helped Eric and Ian no end.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15And it is something which is continuing even today.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Eric and Ian now live in a residential home
0:10:17 > 0:10:22specifically for veterans who have lost limbs in the wars.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Though the world of prosthetics has come on hugely since WWII
0:10:26 > 0:10:29both Ian and Eric have always coped incredibly well
0:10:29 > 0:10:32with their more old-fashioned limbs.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35As a soldier, you expect to get these things.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39It needs a realisation
0:10:39 > 0:10:43that you've got to work at it
0:10:43 > 0:10:47to get better, and I did.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53It was an old friend, I suppose.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57That leg had been with me for 67 years.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00A long time, isn't it?
0:11:07 > 0:11:11So we have with us, in the Picture Of Health surgery,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Marine Andy Grant.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15- Hello, Andy.- You OK?
0:11:15 > 0:11:19How does your story compare with the two chaps on there.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Well, definitely how I got the injury in the first place
0:11:23 > 0:11:25was, you know, similar. I was in Afghanistan,
0:11:25 > 0:11:30but the same trauma that comes with it and, you know, all the confusion
0:11:30 > 0:11:32and all that kind of thing at the time.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34It's kind of like mine in that way.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Would the treatment that you received
0:11:36 > 0:11:39and have received be the same as them?
0:11:39 > 0:11:41No. I think that's the one thing.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43It has moved on massively. When I got injured,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47mine was five o'clock in the morning.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50you know, I was only... I was lying there, bleeding to death,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53but thankfully all the lads were round me and they'd all been given
0:11:53 > 0:11:55the best first aid training ever.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I'd lost my femoral artery in my thigh.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01I think they say within five or six minutes you can bled to death.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Thankfully, the lads had a tourniquet on me straight away,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08stopped the bleeding, were patching me up everywhere else.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Within 40 minutes, the helicopter was in to pick me up
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and take me to the main hospital in Afghanistan.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Obviously back then it wasn't quite as quick
0:12:15 > 0:12:18getting the patients back to the hospitals.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22I mean, when you see devices like this,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Is there anything like this still in use?
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Like I say, for the guys who've got above knee amputations,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29it looks similar in that sense.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31You don't have all the straps on it now.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33A lot of it's done with suction.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36The lads have special liners that they can put in first
0:12:36 > 0:12:39But the big difference for me is the weight.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41- The weight? - The weight has reduced a lot.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44You know, I couldn't imagine walking around with how heavy this is.
0:12:44 > 0:12:50- Could we have a look at your device. - Yeah. The weight, you can see yourself.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54compared to... Obviously, I'd have had this one back in the day.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58See the weight of that to that, it's crazy.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02- Feel that, Stuart. Feel the difference in those two.- Yeah.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03That one, isn't it?
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Yeah, they must have realised as well
0:13:07 > 0:13:10there's not a great need for a lot of the stuff.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13You know, they've managed to trim it down a lot
0:13:13 > 0:13:16and use different materials. That's all carbon fibre.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19This has got leather and metal.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21All this is crazy. It's hard to believe that people
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- were even walking with all this on. - Yeah, yeah.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- You've made a marvellous recovery, Andy.- Yeah.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32- Presumably you're active now, are you?- Yeah.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37Since I've got it done, I'm playing football again, I'm in the gym again,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39I can put it on at 7 o'clock in the morning,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42keep it on until 11 o'clock at night
0:13:42 > 0:13:43and not bat an eyelid.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and you just get completely used to it, yeah?
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Yeah. I mean, it does take a while to get used to,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52but because the legs have moved on so well,
0:13:52 > 0:13:54it's so easy to get comfortable in it.
0:13:54 > 0:13:55I'm really lucky in that sense.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Yeah, you are. It's an inspiration to us all.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Thanks, Andy, for coming and talking to us.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- Thank you very much.- Appreciate it, cheers.- Thank you.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- Thank you.- Thank- YOU.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12for years, the government has tried to educate our children
0:14:12 > 0:14:14to keep them safe from harm.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Top of the agenda - how to cross the road.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22There was a time when we could let our children
0:14:22 > 0:14:24play on the streets without fear of harm.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29But if you flash forward several years,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31roads were getting busier
0:14:31 > 0:14:34and were no longer a safe place to play.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39More and more children were being knocked down
0:14:39 > 0:14:42and ending up in a hospital bed
0:14:42 > 0:14:45- REPORTER:- 'Road accidents are the major cause of death and injury
0:14:45 > 0:14:46'to school-age children.'
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Our children needed protecting.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52They needed to be taught about the dangers of roads
0:14:52 > 0:14:55and how to cross safely.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Public pressure to make our streets safer was mounting,
0:15:01 > 0:15:03In the early '70s, action was taken
0:15:03 > 0:15:06in the form of a fluffy little squirrel.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12'Mrs Fluffytail is taking Tufty and Bobby to the shops.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15'Tufty, what's the right way to cross the road?'
0:15:15 > 0:15:17I do remember little Tufty.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20And he was a squirrel, a safety-conscious squirrel.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24'Stop, then stand on the pavement near the kerb
0:15:24 > 0:15:26'and look all round for traffic.'
0:15:26 > 0:15:27Look.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30'And listen.'
0:15:30 > 0:15:31You know?
0:15:31 > 0:15:32Which we still do!
0:15:33 > 0:15:37'Oh! What happened to their ball?'
0:15:37 > 0:15:40And they showed a poignant piece of film, where there was
0:15:40 > 0:15:42a car running over a ball, flat,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45so it looked like, this could be you.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Just think what might have happened to Tufty or Bobby
0:15:47 > 0:15:49if they had run into the road.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Mrs Fluffytail had seen it all and was very pleased with them
0:15:53 > 0:15:56because they didn't run into the road to get the ball.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00But Tufty wasn't just about a TV ad -
0:16:00 > 0:16:03there was a whole club you could be involved with.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08You could join the Tufty Club.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11You got badges from magazines. People wore them to school.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13You got different badges that were collectable.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16So, they got it into kids' culture, kids' street culture,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20but also that message, you don't want Tufty crushed into roadkill.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Tufty don't want you crushed into roadkill.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29And it seemed Tufty was getting his message across.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30How do you cross the road?
0:16:30 > 0:16:36You stop at the crossing, you look right, you look left,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39you look right again, and when it's all clear, walk across, safely.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41You just look right, you just look left,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45and if there's no cars coming, I just walk across.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Using a squirrel and using animation,
0:16:48 > 0:16:53it somehow or other had meaning to it, particularly for children.
0:16:53 > 0:16:54They could watch that.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58They didn't want a grown-up in a doctor's outfit, or a first-aid man.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01The squirrel saying, "Don't cross the street" made a lot of sense.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08A year later, and a new road safety slogan was born
0:17:08 > 0:17:12one that would stick in all our minds for years to come.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15A massive government campaign on road safety was launched today.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Its aim is to tell children and parents
0:17:18 > 0:17:20all about the Green Cross Code.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22And this time it wasn't a fluffy mammal
0:17:22 > 0:17:26but a superhero, who would deliver the message.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28- Will they see that car? - CAR HORN BEEPS
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Back in the '60s and early '70s, we were starved of superheroes,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37and there wasn't one single home-grown superhero,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39until along came, "Stop! Don't do that!
0:17:39 > 0:17:42"Look and listen before you cross the road."
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Instead of look right, look left,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47look right again and cross, along came the Green Cross Code man.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50I think I'm going to have a word with those two.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54That wasn't very clever, was it?
0:17:54 > 0:17:58If you'd been looking and listening all the way across,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00that wouldn't have happened.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03The first one was a fellow called David Prowse. Big guy, six-foot-six.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07If he stood there, you'd never cross the street, until he told you to.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11When you get to the kerb, always stop, stop, stop, stop.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12Sorry, Green Cross!
0:18:14 > 0:18:15That's the way!
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Always use the Green Cross Code.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Because I won't be there when you cross the road.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27The superhero idea continued through to '76
0:18:27 > 0:18:29this time he was a true legend.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32MUSIC: "Pick Up The Pieces" by the Average White Band
0:18:32 > 0:18:36There was one with Kevin Keegan with long hair and bell-bottoms,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40because he was practically a national hero as a footballer.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Hey! What do you think you're playing at? Come here!
0:18:43 > 0:18:45That's no way to cross the road, is it?
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Come over here, I'll show you a safe way to cross.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51They used celebrities like Kevin Keegan, taking children
0:18:51 > 0:18:54to where there's no cars parked, so they could see where they're going.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Follow the Green Cross Code. Take it from me.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06And later that year came another famous face -
0:19:06 > 0:19:09though the message was often a little confused.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Then we had Jon Pertwee, who was Doctor Who,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14one of my favourite Doctor Whos.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16And he had this thing called SPLINK.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20I asked several people and they can't remember what it was.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22First, find a safe place to cross, then stop. Stand on the pavement,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24near the kerb.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28It was something like sidewalk, I don't know, people...
0:19:28 > 0:19:32When there is no traffic near, walk straight across the road.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Look both ways, I think, then cross, with a K.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Well, now, we'll all remember the Green Cross Code. And use it.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45HE LAUGHS
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Those early ads certainly struck a chord by using humour
0:19:49 > 0:19:54and famous characters to teach our kids to cross the road.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58It is an amazing testament to the power of advertising
0:19:58 > 0:20:02and public education films that a cartoon squirrel
0:20:02 > 0:20:04probably saved thousands of children from injury
0:20:04 > 0:20:07and hundreds of families from grieving for a lost child.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Tufty worked. Bring him back.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16It was so catchy, and there were these great people doing it.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20And, I teach my grandchildren the Green Cross Code, you know,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22crossing the road safely.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25So, that one has stuck in the national consciousness
0:20:25 > 0:20:27for a very long time.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Today, more shocking tactics are used.
0:20:32 > 0:20:38Before his leg was bent backwards, he loved to play football all day.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40But, the boy didn't cross in a safe place.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43Where he could see cars coming his way.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46But those three key words have remained the same.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56I think I sort of predate that quite a bit
0:20:56 > 0:21:00because I still remember a time when policemen used to come to
0:21:00 > 0:21:05the school to teach the Highway Code and show you how to ride a bike.
0:21:05 > 0:21:06It's interesting.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10That was kind of a crossover time when roads were,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13you could see from the films, still, there were empty roads.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Not empty, but the traffic is nothing like it is now.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19In those days, drivers knew how to drive.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21The pace of life was slower.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Traffic moved at about 30 miles an hour.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28We didn't even have a car radio, so you were aware of, all the time,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31I was a motorcyclist, you were aware, all the time,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35of all the noises. The changes in the road surface.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Changes there, that's dry ice.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Wet leaves. So, you were aware all the time.
0:21:40 > 0:21:41Peripheral vision.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45We need now, to have a programme to educate drivers
0:21:45 > 0:21:46of how to deal with pedestrians.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50- Because, pedestrians and motor cars just don't mix.- No, no, no.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Nowadays, you could play football in the street,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55and when something came along, you could hear it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57You moved out of the way. Traffic went by.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00The driver would say sorry to you and all the rest of it.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02We were sharing the roads together.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Now, a driver thinks the road belongs to him
0:22:05 > 0:22:08and the children say, well, where are we? Are we safe to cross?
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Because they're hurtling along at these high speeds.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14So, no matter what you do with children,
0:22:14 > 0:22:16the education must start with the driver.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Yes, absolutely.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24GPs are the backbone of healthcare in this country.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Providing lifelong support to every man, woman and child.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32So, it's hard to imagine a time when the family doctor
0:22:32 > 0:22:36was beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest in society.
0:22:42 > 0:22:48In the early 1900s the nation's health was in a perilous state.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Poverty, poor housing and lack of sanitation
0:22:51 > 0:22:52had led to widespread disease.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58And amongst the working classes, few could afford proper medical care.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Our family was really quite poor.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07We didn't have a lots of money to spare for extraneous costs.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10And so, if we had to see a doctor,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13that was quite a lump sum out of the household purse.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15So, we never saw doctors.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20I had problems with my legs when I was born.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22And so, when I was 18-months-old,
0:23:22 > 0:23:26they told my mother what had got to be done and how much it would be.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31She said, I can't afford it, and the doctor said, well,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35you've got until tomorrow to make up your mind,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39and my mother went round with a tin to all the family
0:23:39 > 0:23:43to collect money for me to have this operation, which I did have it.
0:23:45 > 0:23:46And it put my legs right,
0:23:46 > 0:23:51otherwise I wouldn't be able to walk when I grew up.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56But when the NHS was introduced in 1948, things changed.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Everyone could choose a GP and the service would be free.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05I can remember my mum talking to me.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08"Who was the best doctor? Which doctor should we go to?"
0:24:08 > 0:24:12"Oh, he's too far away, we can't go to him." Choosing your doctor.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15The government was saying, "Be sure and choose your doctor now."
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Have you chosen your family doctor?
0:24:20 > 0:24:21If not, ask your doctor, now,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24if he will look after you under the new scheme.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Now, don't forget. Choose your doctor, now!
0:24:33 > 0:24:3798% of the population signed up immediately.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Overnight, everyone had their own doctor.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Dr Brown. Very tall, dignified-looking man.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Always had a little bow tie, you know?
0:24:50 > 0:24:53At lunchtime, he would be out in his yard at the front,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55doing a bit of gardening.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58And, as you walked through to go into his surgery.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01"I will be in soon," he would say.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Dr Mardell. He was a very lovely fellow,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06very warm, very like your uncle.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08But you would have no more thought of questioning him
0:25:08 > 0:25:11or moving from his care than you would of thought
0:25:11 > 0:25:13of painting yourself blue and turning druid.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Mummy says I'll soon be better, shall I, Dr Manning?
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Yes, if you're a good girl.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23We thought doctors were gods, so, when we saw them,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27we absolutely adhered to the letter of their advice.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31And we wouldn't have dreamed of not doing what they told us.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35GPs were at the centre of local communities
0:25:35 > 0:25:39and with an average 2,500 patients in their care, they were very busy.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45We were called out in all hours and in all weathers.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50You won't have a lot of leisure, even to eat your meals.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53And, somehow, you had to make time to read the journals,
0:25:53 > 0:25:54so as to keep up with the latest work.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Roger Selby was a GP in the Bradford area for over 30 years.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09This is where my late senior partner lived from the 1930s onwards.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13We had the main surgery here.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17My partner died in 1965
0:26:17 > 0:26:24but we continued to use this surgery until 1972.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Patients come to consult the doctor at his place of work, his surgery.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33And the daily routine of every general practitioner starts here.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40And after surgery, the doctor would begin the house calls.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47The doctor would come and you were always put in your mummy's bed,
0:26:47 > 0:26:52when doctor was coming, because there was a bit more room
0:26:52 > 0:26:54in Mum and Dad's room.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57One of his calls this morning is on an old patient.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00A chat with the doctor will relieve her loneliness
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and probably do as much good as any medicine he can prescribe.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09These are some of the terraced houses near the surgery.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12We would make lots of visits here.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14To all sorts of conditions.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20We would do, oh, 15 to 25 visits a day.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23A very important part of general practice in those days.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29A special relationship between doctor and patient is very valuable.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33For the doctor can never regard his time as his own.
0:27:33 > 0:27:34PHONE RINGS
0:27:35 > 0:27:41Nowadays, I regret that they don't visit like they used to do.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45I know they're very busy seeing patients.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50But, we were very busy, too, but we managed to visit.
0:27:52 > 0:27:5620 years after its birth, the NHS itself was in poor health.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00A growing population had stretched budgets to the max.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04The GP struggled to meet demand.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07We are facing a crisis in family doctoring.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14Far too few doctors are trying to look after far too many patients.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19With grossly inadequate facilities to practice 20th-century medicine.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24It was getting more difficult to go in and see the doctor.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26You would go in the surgery,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30and there would be more and more people in there.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33And it's even worse now.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36You go in our surgery, it always seems to be full.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42It's a bit of a nightmare if you think, I must see a doctor,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45and then you try to get through, and it takes you an hour,
0:28:45 > 0:28:47every time you try, it's engaged.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50And I see different doctors every time.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53And even though I've been with the same surgery for years,
0:28:53 > 0:28:56I don't think any doctor knows, actually, who I am.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58When I go I see a different person,
0:28:58 > 0:29:02and some are really cold towards me, and some are OK.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05I wouldn't say that it was like a nice, friendly experience,
0:29:05 > 0:29:07when I went to see the doctor.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12For many, today's family GP has lost the personal touch.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18For Dr Selby, his memories of how it used to be are very much alive.
0:29:20 > 0:29:2422 years after retirement, I still meet patients
0:29:24 > 0:29:27in the supermarket who say, "Hello, doctor, how are you?"
0:29:30 > 0:29:34And I don't remember their names, but they remember mine!
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Yes, it's a very nice to see them, still.
0:29:36 > 0:29:37Say, "Aah".
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Well, Doctor Selby.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50We hear a lot about the connection between the doctors
0:29:50 > 0:29:52and the pharmaceutical world now.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56Was it like that when you first started out?
0:29:56 > 0:30:01Were you encouraged to administer a lot of new medicines?
0:30:01 > 0:30:02Yes, indeed.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06There were plenty of traditional medicines as well. Mostly mixtures.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08Yes.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11Do you feel that that's one of the major changes in medicine
0:30:11 > 0:30:14since you started, shall we say?
0:30:14 > 0:30:19There have been great advances in treatment for so many conditions.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25Of course, there have been great advances in medicines as well.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Stewart, do you remember, I mean, I can think of, when I was a kid,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32when the doctor came to visit, you were made to look smart.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35It was a big thing if the doctor was coming to your home.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38I thought medicine in my day was totally magnificent.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41My brother, for instance, knocked down by a lorry.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Crossing the road, bang!
0:30:43 > 0:30:46His right leg was hanging off by a bit of flesh.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50My father put my brother, Keith, into his car, a Riley 9,
0:30:50 > 0:30:54rushed him to the local doctor, who stitched the leg back on!
0:30:54 > 0:30:58He still has a row of stitches right round his leg, my brother.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02Fortunately, he survived, but, thanks to the miracle man,
0:31:02 > 0:31:03the family doctor.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07He was a man of all trades. He could deal with anything.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08He was used to anything.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11But, if they had the facilities in your day and my day,
0:31:11 > 0:31:13that they have today,
0:31:13 > 0:31:18then it would have been a better world, really, wouldn't it?
0:31:18 > 0:31:20You look at the advances in drugs now,
0:31:20 > 0:31:24and all this, well, in my day, diphtheria was the big killer.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26Now, it's gone altogether.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29We did have crises, of course.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35The biggest crisis we had was the smallpox outbreak
0:31:35 > 0:31:37in Bradford in 1962.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38"Bratford?"
0:31:38 > 0:31:40No, not Bradford.
0:31:40 > 0:31:41Bratford.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44We're in Yorkshire, lad, come on!
0:31:44 > 0:31:46And, on that note, Doctor Selby,
0:31:46 > 0:31:49thanks very much for coming along and joining us,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51in the Picture Of Health surgery.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58We take it for granted today that, if there is an accident,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01a fully-trained paramedic will be on the scene,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04equipped to treat any injuries.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07But you don't have to look that far back in history to a time
0:32:07 > 0:32:11when an ambulance man or woman would simply have been a van driver.
0:32:12 > 0:32:171970, and in West Yorkshire an ambulance rushes back to base.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23It was a time before paramedics and when an ambulance driver
0:32:23 > 0:32:27was just that. Their job was to simply take passengers to hospital.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31Most of them were good taxi men.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36Who knew how to get from A to B quicker, in the shortest way,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39and how to get to each of the hospitals.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44Fred Williams joined the West Riding Ambulance Service in 1963.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47The main qualification he needed was a driving licence.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50His interview was simply a test of his skills behind the wheel.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56Before we set off, he said, "Now, I want you to imagine
0:32:56 > 0:33:01"there's a little old lady on't stretcher in't back."
0:33:01 > 0:33:03"And if tha wants this job.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05"She better be on't stretcher when we get back!"
0:33:05 > 0:33:10Fred got the job, and it was a job that he loved.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15He loved it so much, in fact, that he got together with a colleague
0:33:15 > 0:33:17to make this film all about it.
0:33:22 > 0:33:28The actual idea of that film was a day in an ambulanceman's life.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32We set off with him coming to work and being allocated outpatients,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34then this call, an accident happened on a campsite.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39But this film wasn't just about a day in the life
0:33:39 > 0:33:43it was designed to show others how to help patients on the scene.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50We'd got this big firework, and we only had one.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53So, there were none of this take two or take three.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56It had to happen first time and be right.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00We put this firework under the stove.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03It were all hit and miss but it were certainly a hit.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06It nearly blew me back for real.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11This was the start of a change in ambulance services across Britain.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14More drivers were trained to treat patients on the scene
0:34:14 > 0:34:18rather than just rush them back to hospital.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24And this new way of working was gaining mixed reaction.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29In them days, if you were at the scene more than two minutes
0:34:29 > 0:34:31they wanted to know why.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35I'd be at accidents, and there's always a crowd round.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37You would hear them muttering,
0:34:37 > 0:34:39"He's going to be dead before they get him to hospital."
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Because the concept of the public was an ambulance
0:34:42 > 0:34:46with a bell ringing, or a siren, screaming up to the place,
0:34:46 > 0:34:47putting them in the back,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50shut the doors, and screaming off again, you see?
0:34:51 > 0:34:55The development of our ambulance service was reaching a new stage.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04Patients could be stabilised in situ before being transported to hospital.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07But if lives were really going to be saved,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10the crews would need more than just first aid.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16And it was in London where the pressure was really being felt.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20Brian Cragg had joined the capital's service in 1975.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Training back then was vastly different from what it is now.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26It was a basic six-week course
0:35:26 > 0:35:33and, er, you learned the elements of first aid, anatomy and physiology
0:35:33 > 0:35:39but the focus of the training really was about how to use the ambulance equipment, so it...
0:35:39 > 0:35:43it worked for the times then.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50But times were changing. 1979 and London was on red alert.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51ALARM RINGS
0:35:51 > 0:35:56It was the first murder inside the Palace of Westminster for more than 150 years.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00After a period of peace,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03Irish terrorists had begun a frightening bombing campaign.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Brian was at the centre of the violence.
0:36:09 > 0:36:14We'd arrived back at our station, which was just around the corner from the Houses of Parliament,
0:36:14 > 0:36:18but as we parked up, we heard a dull thud in the distance,
0:36:18 > 0:36:24which I recognised as the sound of an explosion.
0:36:24 > 0:36:25EXPLOSION
0:36:25 > 0:36:29A wrecked blue Vauxhall Cavalier had brought a new and horrifying dimension
0:36:29 > 0:36:32to the election of '79.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38Airey Neave, then Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland, was the bomb's target.
0:36:38 > 0:36:44I climbed across the bonnet, got in next to him, he was in quite a bad way,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48but, yeah, we worked on him for quite a time, trying to extricate him.
0:36:48 > 0:36:55Took him off to Westminster Hospital, we'd done a fair bit of treatment along the way,
0:36:55 > 0:36:58cos even in those days, we'd got some extended skills,
0:36:58 > 0:37:01but, unfortunately, he died when we arrived there.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06Sadly, nothing would have saved Airey Neave's life,
0:37:06 > 0:37:12but it was a stark reminder of the extreme situations ambulance drivers like Brian were dealing with.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19And the equipment they had to rely on was simplistic and very old.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23It's amazing how basic things were in those days.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26I suppose when you were there, it didn't seem as basic,
0:37:26 > 0:37:29cos it's what you knew, it's what you had.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33In the corner there, you've got oxygen.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37This takes me back. This is, um...
0:37:37 > 0:37:40We used to call it a wooden back leg.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44It's adjustable and the idea was that you could
0:37:44 > 0:37:45fit it to a patient's lower leg
0:37:45 > 0:37:46and you'd be able
0:37:46 > 0:37:48to immobilise fractures
0:37:48 > 0:37:51of the two bones of the lower leg,
0:37:51 > 0:37:52the ankle.
0:37:52 > 0:37:58You can see the Furley stretcher, which was quite a heavy wooden and canvas stretcher -
0:37:58 > 0:38:01bit of a remnant, really, from the old Civil Defence days
0:38:01 > 0:38:05and I wouldn't mind betting this one is probably older than me.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07SIREN BLARES
0:38:08 > 0:38:13The ambulance crews needed more than just equipment left over from the war.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17And in the mid-1980s, they were given a piece of kit
0:38:17 > 0:38:21that would change our ambulance service for ever.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Looking down, up. Stand clear!
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Checking the monitor, still in VF.
0:38:25 > 0:38:26DEFIBRILLATOR SHOT GIVEN
0:38:26 > 0:38:27Delivering the first shot.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31This piece of kit was the defibrillator.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33Dealing with heart-attack victims
0:38:33 > 0:38:37using a technique called defibrillation is part of the advanced training.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41For me, that was a turning point,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44that said, "Yes, we are becoming more professional.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49"The ambulance service is arriving. We're there."
0:38:52 > 0:38:57Being able to resuscitate patients at the scene saved thousands of lives.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00The traditional techniques ambulance crews have used
0:39:00 > 0:39:04are increasingly being replaced by more sophisticated methods.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09And it kick-started a nationwide training scheme to turn our ambulance drivers
0:39:09 > 0:39:13into paramedics, a term officially coined in 1990.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Brian has seen huge changes in the ambulance service
0:39:22 > 0:39:25and has some very fond memories.
0:39:27 > 0:39:32As a 19-year-old, it was incredible fun,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35with the added bonus, really, working in Central London,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38you could be underneath The Arches, down in Villier Street,
0:39:38 > 0:39:40looking after a homeless person
0:39:40 > 0:39:44on one call, and the very next call, you might be in the Queen Mother's bedroom.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52And today he spends his time training the paramedics of the future.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56If you wanted to join the ambulance service today,
0:39:56 > 0:40:01the basic route of joining is via a university.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06So the six-week course is long put to bed.
0:40:14 > 0:40:19- It's extraordinary, you see stock items still made of wood.- Yes!
0:40:19 > 0:40:23And then they're switching from that into defibrillators.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27- Wonderful.- It's quite amazing... - Did well there.- ..the advances, eh?
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Extraordinary. I had an experience with an ambulance.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35I was head boy at my local school and road a 500 BSA machine to school.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38All the lads, you know, silk scarves and goggles and the lot,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41and a dustbin cart turned out in front of me,
0:40:41 > 0:40:42so I somersaulted off the bike
0:40:42 > 0:40:46under the wheels of the dust cart, three tonnes on my private parts...
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- Really?- ..which was very uncomfortable.- Very uncomfortable.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52- The called for the ambulance. It was like an old cart.- Yeah.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Righto, then,"
0:40:56 > 0:40:58and just threw me in the ambulance.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01- They weren't designed for comfort, were they?- Threw me in and took me to hospital.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06- The Crown Jewels recovered, by the way. I did get better. - I think that's really what it is,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10it's all about the care that they can deal with right there at the site,
0:41:10 > 0:41:15rather than getting you, as it was in the old days, into the hospital.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17It all had to be done then.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Well, I think when they come to a motor accident now,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24when they come to a motorcyclist and he's got severe head injuries
0:41:24 > 0:41:26and all the rest of it, these paramedics now,
0:41:26 > 0:41:30they will ascertain whether it's safe to remove the crash helmet
0:41:30 > 0:41:32to do whatever's necessary,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35and save the bloke's life, so they do save countless lives.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38I would take my hat off to the modern ambulance driver,
0:41:38 > 0:41:41- the paramedic - they do a wonderful job.- Yeah.
0:41:41 > 0:41:47- So, Stuart?- Yes.- Thank you so much for coming and contributing your stories...
0:41:47 > 0:41:50There are plenty more where they came from.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54- ..and your medical recollections. - We don't have time.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- But thanks for inviting me. - It's been lovely.- Been a pleasure. - Thank you.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07And you can find out more about how health care has changed from an Open University expert.
0:42:07 > 0:42:08Go to...
0:42:09 > 0:42:11..and follow the links.
0:42:22 > 0:42:23Coming up next time -
0:42:23 > 0:42:27the tiny baby who made medical history.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Every day we count our blessings that we were lucky enough to be involved.
0:42:31 > 0:42:36And love them or hate them, we remember how specs used to be.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38We were just so grateful to be able to see!
0:42:38 > 0:42:40We didn't care what they looked like.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47That's all from A Picture Of Health for today. Goodbye.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd