Episode 7 Holding Back the Years

Everything has an impact on your life.

Whatever your age.

From the type of house we live in...

Oh, this looks nice.

Yes, it's been completely renovated throughout.

..to how much money we have to spend.

Your wage ends up being like a normal working wage, which is good.

What we put in our bodies...

I don't think I've ever been "fat" fat, but I have put weight on.

..to the secrets of our genetic make up.

You are going to live to be 140.

No, that'll do. I'll take everything I can get.

So, finding out about all those things

and more could help you mature brilliantly...

..or slow down the ageing process just a little.

We've tracked down the very best tips and advice

for holding back the years.

And now, with the help of our team,

we're going to pass them on to you,

-to show you how to have the time of your life.

-Whenever that may be.

Hello, and welcome to the show that says if life's a lottery...

..we've got your winning numbers. Here's what's coming up.

With Britain's pensioners being targeted on so-called suckers lists,

we find out how your parents, grandparents, and even you

can combat the con artists.

I would be telling them where to go.

It would begin with F and end with F,

so that's as much as I'm prepared to say.

Thank goodness for that! They daren't mess with you!

Dr Chatterjee continues his Making Sense of your Senses Week.

Today, he's sniffing out top tips and ways of saving

your sense of smell and taste.

Most people will think that they have lost their sense of taste

if their sense of smell goes, but in reality,

for every 100 patients that I see in a specialist clinic,

only one patient has a true loss of taste.

The rest all have loss of smell.

Mindfulness and relaxation therapy is the latest way the NHS

is combating stress, but it can take some getting used to.

Today, for the first time in his 87 years,

Joseph gets to experience a massage.

-Hey.

-You woke me up.

-I'm sorry. Are you feeling really relaxed?

-Yes, it's very nice.

-I think that means, "Go away, Fiona!"

I'll see you later.

And at the other end of the age spectrum, Bill meets

the home-grown students who could be the saviours of social care.

A lot of young people wouldn't find working with older people

-appealing at all, would they?

-That's what I felt before I started.

It's not what you think it'll be.

And being truthful, I thought it was going to be, like, miserable.

But each person in that elderly people's home had a story,

and I wanted to hear every person's story. I want to help people,

so that's why I want to go to uni to do social work.

Scams - they can happen to anyone at any age, but the older we get,

the more it would seem the scammers take us for suckers.

And losing money is often only part of the impact these scams have.

They can leave victims feeling ashamed, anxious,

and incredibly vulnerable.

Thankfully, though, some people are fighting back,

and Fiona has been to hear their story.

It's one of the biggest crimewaves the UK has ever seen.

We have received notice against your name...

Let me see what I can do...

With around £10 billion being stolen each year...

-Can you provide me your date of birth?

-Your debit card number?

-Your National Insurance number?

-..and it seems, the older we get,

the more susceptible we are to becoming a victim.

I'm in Hull to meet one of those victims. Pat Bottomley is

someone who spent her life fostering over 100 children in the city.

She's even got an MBE for it.

And it's that good nature and sense of public duty that the scammers

exploited, when they called her with an unusual demand from a man

claiming to be from the police.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

Pat, just tell us what happened.

The phone rang saying that they had arrested a lad in London with

my credit card on him, £5,000 in money, four other credit cards.

OK, and this guy who spoke to you

said he was a police officer, didn't he?

-That's right.

-I might have believed him if he'd said that, so...

He gave me his name, the station he was at. They said they knew

-this was one of the people that were doing these scams.

-OK.

So they said, if I transferred money into these people's accounts,

they would have police at the bank waiting for him to go

and get the money, and they would catch this person.

And the scammers tried every tactic they could

when Pat wasn't convinced.

When he was speaking to you, did you ever think, "Is this right?"

Were you questioning it at all?

He said, "Just ring the London number and check,"

so he went off the line. I tried to get through, but couldn't.

-Yeah.

-I tried to get through on my mobile, but couldn't.

And from 11.00 in the morning, they had both my mobile

and my house phone locked, which I didn't know.

What made Pat even more suspicious was the fact that the caller

seemed to know a lot of her most personal intimate details,

including who she banked with and even the name of her son.

Your mind must have been all over the place.

Oh, it definitely was. And they said,

"With your help today, we could help thousands of people."

Thousands of people. And that's what got me.

Believing she was helping to catch a criminal,

Pat ended up transferring £8,500 to the scammers,

never to be contacted again by the fake caller.

How has it left you feeling?

It's like being invaded, isn't it? Assaulted, almost.

It is. And it's as raw today as it was.

I've lost all confidence in doing things.

I used to work for social services. It took me no time to do a report.

It's took me nearly six months to get these reports written,

because I just cannot sit down and do anything.

Cos I don't trust myself to do it properly.

It's not the money I lost. I mean, it was a lot of money.

I'd have rather given that to my family, my grandchildren.

It's how it's left me feeling.

I still feel raw, I still feel an idiot,

and I don't think I'll ever stop feeling like that.

Poor Pat was unfortunate enough to find herself on a database full of

people that scammers thought would be more likely to fall for a scam.

And guess what they call this list?

The Suckers List.

Charming.

And it seems that it's the nation's pensioners

who are top of this so-called Suckers List,

as criminals target those who are living on their own. In fact,

Trading Standards believes that one million OAPs will be on it by 2019.

Neil Masters is from the National Trading Standards Scams Team,

and has worked with victim support here in Hull.

So, we've heard a lot about this dreadfully named Suckers List.

Does it actually exist?

Well, we would prefer to call it a victims list,

because that's exactly what it is.

It's a list of people who have fallen victim to fraud.

It's a list that is then sold on by fraudsters to other fraudsters,

because it is seen that people on that list are susceptible

to being defrauded again.

All of us have personal information about us stored quite legitimately

by companies online. Most of this is done through call centres,

which means the information can be easily passed on to

other organisations we haven't even had contact with.

And how would they get access to this information?

The victims lists are very often traded on the dark web,

part of the internet which most of us will never access.

It can only be accessed by specialist software and tools.

The lists will develop as they get traded, with more information,

to the detriment of people like you and I.

It's very hard to combat criminals who operate on the dark web.

The best plan is to guard against being taken in by them

in the first place.

I've come to the awareness campaign group, Think Jessica, where

Marilyn Baldwin runs a passionate campaign to educate people,

especially older people, on how to beat the scammers.

What shows you it's a scam is that you've got to send money.

But for her, this is more than just a public duty.

It's a very personal crusade.

And the next scam, clairvoyant scams.

Marilyn, you've spent the best part of a decade teaching people

how to avoid scams.

Why did you get involved in the first place?

Well, my mother, Jessica, was a victim,

and when she was in her late 70s, she received a letter.

It was a bogus lottery letter that she received.

she sent money off to it, and as a result,

her name got put on what the criminals call a Suckers List.

And that was really when the nightmares started.

By the nightmares, what do you mean?

Well, scattered amongst the letters from lotteries, banks, solicitors,

that kind of thing, there was also letters from clairvoyants.

And these letters told her that the family were against her,

that people wished her harm.

-Good grief!

-Yeah.

And turned her against anybody who tried to make her see the truth.

So really, they'd brainwashed her, hadn't they?

My mother wasn't diagnosed with having any mental incapacity,

so it was very difficult to get anybody to understand, you know,

just how strong this psychology was,

and why it was making her behave like that.

The family felt powerless to help,

because even directing the mail required her mother's permission.

As the number of letters increased daily, she began to suffer.

It had an impact on her health as well, didn't it?

She started to get more confused and more delusional.

Paranoid, you know. There were times when I actually took her

to the building society, I drove her there,

because she was going to make her own way there anyway in the rain.

I'd take her to the building society so she could draw money out,

and send it off to the scams.

It was the only way we could spend that day without an argument.

Marilyn believes that by the last months of her life,

her mother had received over 30,000 scam letters.

She's sure that the stress contributed to her death.

If a stranger walked into your house and said,

"Oh, can you just tell me who supplies your gas?"

"How much your house is worth?" or whatever,

would you tell a stranger that? You wouldn't.

So how can we avoid being caught out?

Marilyn's got three golden rules to jam the scams.

Number one, it's smart to be suspicious.

Every 15 seconds, somebody falls for a scam.

Number two, never give out your personal details or bank details

to strangers. Number three, don't get on the hook.

Hang up. Tell them, "No, thank you, I'm not interested," and hang up.

So, great advice, and as a result, I can't see any of these people

being taken for a ride any time soon.

You look a smart lady to me.

Do you think you'd ever be taken in by a scam?

No, no, I don't think I would be.

You've got to be strong, you've got to be strong, and definitely

you don't want to talk to them unless you know the person.

One time that did happen, I just put the phone down.

A few minutes later, the phone rang. I said, "Hello," and THEY hung up.

"Do you have a computer?" I say, "No".

Half an hour later, "Do you have windows?"

"Do we have windows? Yes, six."

I would be telling them where to go.

It would begin with F and end with F, so,

that's as much as I'm prepared to say.

Thank goodness for that! They daren't mess with you!

You know, I'm really quite sad about some of the stories

I've heard today. Angry, actually.

Vulnerable people being targeted by evil people, scammers.

But there is a way we can put a spanner in the scammers' works -

no details, no dosh.

You don't give them your details, they don't get any dosh.

Time now to hear from Dr Rangan Chatterjee and the latest instalment

in his series of Making Sense of your Senses.

So, today he's turning his attention on how our sense of smell and taste

could be the key to good health.

Most of us will experience a notable loss in one of our senses

after the age of 40.

That's eyesight, hearing, smell, touch, taste and balance.

But if you know what to look out for and how to get it tested,

then treatment is available,

not to mention top tips on preventing it in the first place.

I'm Dr Rangan Chatterjee, and all this week,

I will be helping you make sense of it all.

Now, we all know that if our sight declines through age,

we can get a pair of specs. We can even get help

with any hearing problems, usually a simple fix.

But just what happens when we start to lose our sense of smell?

A rose. It might not smell so sweet,

but that's actually just the start of the problem.

And that's because our sense of taste is by and large governed

by our sense of smell.

It's impossible to even make sense of a simple packet of sweets.

So, just a really quick test.

Basically, going to give you a nose clip to block your sense of smell.

-Yep.

-Something to pop round your eyes so you can't see.

Then I'm going to give you some sweets to see if you can tell me

-what flavour they are.

-OK.

-OK.

-How's that?

-Yep, yep.

Pop it in your mouth and tell me what flavour it is.

-Apple.

-Apple, OK.

Orange. Orange.

-Apple.

-Thought that was apple as well.

-Yeah.

-OK. Did you find it hard to taste it?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, it is.

-Yeah.

I think without the visual and also with the nose clamp...

..you're pretty limited.

Out of the three, you didn't get a single one right.

No! Says a lot, doesn't it?

And it's the same story with everyone I test.

-Any idea?

-Strawberry?

-Lemon.

-OK.

Yeah, it's a bit confusing.

I don't think I'm very good at this.

I can't taste anything.

-Can you not?

-No.

-OK.

So, you know, what's interesting is that we know that, actually,

if we cut off our sense of smell, it's a lot harder to taste.

-It is, yes.

-Did you find that?

I did. I didn't know what I was eating, really.

I think breathing through your mouth when your nose is blocked

and trying to eat and taste is not easy.

-But, you know...

-So, you definitely felt a difference?

-Yes.

And as that simple test shows,

when our sense of smell is cut off, our sense of taste goes, too.

To find out why this happens, I've come to James Paget Hospital in

Great Yarmouth to meet the man in charge of the UK's only clinic

dedicated to smell and taste.

Professor Carl Philpott is the consultant here.

We often think of taste and smell as separate senses,

but how closely are they linked?

When you put food inside your mouth, you get the stimulus of true

taste on the tongue, which are sensations of salt, sweet, bitter,

and umami, which is a savoury sensation.

And at the same time, the odour of the food rises through the back of

the mouth into the nose, and that gives you the flavour of food,

which is down to the smell. And roughly speaking, it's probably

about 80% of flavour perception is down to smell, and 20% is taste.

And because we label that process of appreciating flavour as tasting,

most people will think that they've lost their sense of taste

if their sense of smell goes.

But in reality, for every 100 patients that I see in a specialist

clinic, only one patient has a true loss of taste.

The rest all have loss of smell.

And how big of a problem is loss of smell?

The loss of smell in the population is probably around 1-5% total loss

of smell. Over the age of 60, 65, it becomes very much 20% or higher.

And we know that in certain circumstances like Alzheimer's

and Parkinson's, smell loss is very prevalent.

So how seriously should we take a loss of smell?

I think we should take it very seriously.

Ultimately, it's a loss of one of our senses. It's a warning sign

for us, when there are hazards in the home, or even just simple things

like our own body odour and awareness of our environment.

And I think people get very depressed when they're without it,

because it adds a dimension to life that I think, until it's gone,

you don't really appreciate. And I think again for the reasons

we've already mentioned around the potential implications of

certain diagnoses that could come out from smell loss,

it's important to have that evaluated properly and to

make sure there isn't a serious problem there.

One man who is all too aware of this problem is 80-year-old Rod Goren.

Over a period of about five years now, I've started losing

my sense of smell, and to a lesser degree, taste.

I just cannot smell anything at all.

As Rod discovered, losing your sense of smell could even prove dangerous.

I got into trouble from my son, because I was doing a little job

on a gas heater.

And not being able to smell the gas coming out...

..I got told off. Seriously.

So how has this problem affected his taste buds?

I used to have a very, very good sense of taste,

but certain foods now...

..which I used to thoroughly enjoy,

I sometimes don't even wish to eat them now.

I certainly don't eat as much as I used to eat.

It is just so frustrating.

The one thing that upsets me more than anything is when

I'm mowing the grass, you can't smell the grass.

And that is, to me,

is one of the most strongest and pungent smells that I can remember.

I miss it terribly.

Now, I decided to go make an appointment and...

..see what can be done about it, if at all possible.

Today is Rod's first trip to the smell and taste clinic.

-Hello, there.

-Hello.

-I'm pleased to meet you.

My name's Tracey, and I want you to...

Nurse Tracey Baker will be performing a number of sniff tests

to determine how severe Rod's loss of smell is.

That's pen two.

That's pen three.

Nothing on any of them.

Nothing on any of them. OK.

So, that's come up with functional anosmia, which is no sense of smell.

No surprises there.

So it's time for a consultation with Professor Philpott,

where he uses a camera to get a closer look inside Rod's nose.

What we like to do in these circumstances is just do

a full check and make sure there's nothing rare in the background

that's causing this problem, so we would organise an MRI scan

of your brain just to look at the detailed pathways in the brain

to see there's no problems there.

Is there any chance at all that Rod might be able to regain

-his sense of smell?

-The honest truth at the moment is we don't know

until we've done some further tests.

If I happen to pick up something unusual such as

a mineral deficiency that may be treatable, then it may be

reversible, so it would be speculation at this point.

Unlike glasses or hearing aids,

there's no quick fix for losing your sense of smell.

However, there are important coping mechanisms.

Making sure that they take precautions at home,

so fitting a gas or smoke detector in the home environment

as a hazard warning. To make sure their label their food so they know

when food goes out of date, because often they miss that cue.

But also to involve their family members and friends.

If a sense of smell is part of their daily work schedule, then

talk to their managers and their teams about their losing that sense,

and have help with that.

I think one of the key things that when you talk to people for

the first time about suffering with smell and taste loss,

is they think they're on their own, they think that it's just them.

The sense of isolation is really prevalent, so actually explaining

to them that they're not alone, that lots of other people out there are

like them, brings them in out of the cold, if you like, and allows them

to feel that there's a community out there that can help them.

It's amazing how little we understand of two senses that are

so important for so many different aspects of our daily lives.

But having seen the work that's going on here

at Professor Philpott's clinic,

I think a better understanding of taste and smell

is most definitely on the menu.

If nostalgia is your thing,

you're going to love this next part of the show,

where we help exercise your old, or perhaps not so old, grey matter.

All you have to do is watch the following clips and work out

-when it all happened.

-And the question,

well, it's very straightforward - what was the year that was?

Here's how the game works. We're going to show you a few key events

that all happened in the space of a year, but which year?

And here's why you should play along - psychologists have said

that nostalgia can promote a sense of wellbeing and vitality

in us all, so this could help you hold back the years.

Can we from the beginning...?

Background action! Action!

If it were an American film, it would be unbearable.

It would be treated with a great deal of sentiment

and a lot of feel-good emotions,

and happily, it's done so lightly.

He's written it like

someone throwing a stone across the surface of a pond.

The IBM Simon was the world's first.

It was recalled after six months.

The battery only lasted for an hour,

and it weighed the same as a bag of sugar.

I think it was ahead of its time, and it was before the technology

that was needed to support it was really ready as well, so that's

part of the reason it wasn't a brilliant commercial success.

The answer to that at the end of the show.

Now, they say that life is what happens when you're busy doing

something else, which is why it's important to slow down and relax,

whatever age you are.

Yeah, but this idea is now being backed up by science,

because mindfulness, as it's sometimes referred to,

is being offered on the NHS.

What does it actually involve, and does it work?

Well, Fiona and friends have been finding out if keeping calm

can help us all carry on.

Nowhere in the UK can claim to be home of the Fountain of Youth

like Bath, where the ancient thermal spas have helped relax,

rejuvenate and replenish both locals and visitors from far afield.

Today, over a million people of all ages take to the waters each year,

all wanting to look and feel younger than their years.

So, what are you hoping for when you get in?

Something warm and relaxing.

Rest!

Relax and recuperate from all the hustle and bustle of London.

It's unusual to see a gent.

I don't know why. It's so relaxing, and it's good for your joints,

-especially when you get to my age.

-Exactly!

It's nice to go away and do something, or nothing, really.

It's nice to take stock and just relax and switch off

and not have your phone next to you for a few hours.

Given such anecdotal evidence, it's perhaps not surprising

that sales of anti-ageing spa treatments and mini breaks claiming

to take years off you have gone through the roof in recent years.

But of course, not everyone relishes the thought of going full frontal

at a spa. For ages, I didn't want to do that,

and then I had my first massage and I became a convert.

I've arranged for Mearle, 76, and Carlton, 87,

who'd never tried a spa, to come and give it a go.

Now, are you really pleased to be here, or are you a bit nervous?

I'm a bit nervous, but I'm very pleased.

Have you ever had a massage before?

No, not before. First time.

You've never really been indulged and looked after and

-treated to a spa?

-No, not at all, no.

Well, today's the day!

-Off you go.

-Thank you very much.

-And we shall see you later.

There are any number of treatments, massages and rubs that you can get

at the average spa, but we're starting these novices off lightly,

given its their first time. Mearle is getting a foot massage.

-Mearle?

-Hello.

-Hey, how's it going?

Very well indeed. Like I want to go to sleep.

I feel really drowsy.

Good. You can hold a lot of stress in your feet, actually,

so that's all melting away by the sounds of it.

My feet are really hot.

-Good.

-Yes.

-I'll leave you to it then, yeah?

You carry on relaxing.

Meanwhile, Carlton relaxes with my favourite - a head massage.

-You wake me up, my dear.

-I'm sorry!

-I'm enjoying it.

-Are you feeling really relaxed?

-Yes, it's very nice, very good.

I think that means, "Go away, Fiona!"

I'll see you later.

Well, it seems Mearle and Carlton are both enjoying their first-ever

massage, but I want to find out if there's any scientific proof to

the claims that destressing can help us hold back the years.

Meeting me is Dr Janet Withall from the University of Bath.

So, Janet, what is stress? What effect does it have on our bodies?

Well, the stress mechanism,

I suppose, is that when we're feeling in danger or scared,

our bodies release stress hormones, so as an example,

if you step off the pavement into the middle of a busy road,

a car comes hurtling towards you, the adrenaline kicks in,

you breathe very quickly, your heart pounds, and it

gives you the energy to deal with the situation very quickly.

So short bursts of stress are actually essential,

they're helpful to our everyday functioning?

Yeah. The problem is, if people feel stressed for longer periods,

the effects of those hormones can turn from positive to negative.

Prolonged exposure to stress can contribute to many health problems,

such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

The risk of these is already higher as we age,

which makes it even more important to avoid stress in later life.

Ageing brings with it its very own forms of stress, doesn't it?

Exactly. I'm sure there's no time of life when there isn't

lots of reasons to be stressed, but as people age,

they may suffer losing a partner, having to care for someone

long-term, and even worrying about their own health.

-And their mortality.

-And their mortality, yes,

so these things really can't be controlled.

What we can do is have some impact on how we react to those stresses.

Back at the spa, Carlton and Mearle are off the massage table

and have taken to the waters.

Are you enjoying it, Mearle?

Very relaxing.

What's it like? Where do you think you are now?

In the tropics in Jamaica. In the sea.

You'd better stay there, then!

-I'm in Antigua.

-Antigua?

I'm in the sunshine, and I can't keep still, I want to go round.

-You enjoy it.

-I could stay here all day!

All right, guys, I'll leave you to it.

Enjoy. Enjoy. I don't need to tell them to enjoy, they're loving it!

Actually, I wish I'd gone in.

Of course, massages and spas aren't the only ways to relax.

There are lots of simpler and cheaper options too.

I'm meeting Jackie Hawken, who teaches mindfulness techniques.

What is mindfulness?

A lot of us don't really live in the world, we live in our heads.

-Absolutely.

-So with mindfulness,

it's paying attention in a particular way on purpose

in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.

It's simply, can I be sitting on the ground with my back to an oak tree,

listening to a robin singing? Even just for ten seconds.

That is being mindful.

Who better to try out this technique than our intrepid volunteers?

They've been joined by a friend, Verona,

who has come to try out a way to relax on a budget.

So, think of a colour that represents to you

healing and cleansing.

Breathing in this healing colour now to every cell in your body,

cleansing and healing.

And breathing out the dark, grey smoke of staleness

that dissolves as it leaves your body.

Considered to be around 2,500 years old, mindfulness practices

were inspired mainly by teachings from the Eastern world.

You see, people would say,

"Oh, well, I don't think that's going to work for me".

I totally agree that people can be cynical.

Although this comes out of Eastern philosophy and wisdom,

it's very much now a present-day thing which is helping people

with anxiety, depression.

Even if you just say to somebody,

"OK, just try breathing deeply three times into your tummy."

And then breathing all the way out.

Now I'm breathing out.

So, allowing all the sounds that surround you now to knit together

like a comfort blanket of sound.

And thoughts inevitably arise.

Let those thoughts show themselves and dissolve.

If all this is seeming a bit too alternative for you maybe,

then you might be surprised to hear that mindfulness is now being

recommended by the NHS, with some researchers claiming that its

benefits can help us keep off weight, treat pain, and of course,

keep us mentally fit, too.

OK, time to find out now the final verdict

from Mearle, Carlton and Verona.

Hey, hey. You're coming out with smiles on your faces!

So, Verona, how was it?

It was lovely.

And it made my body feel really light and just relaxed.

Not heavy, just light.

-Oh, that's lovely!

-Very relaxing, yeah!

Because we don't really breathe properly, do we?

We really don't, we're rushing all the time.

I mean, you can do mindfulness at home, you see.

So you have to try and keep that balance.

And my hair. When I've done my hair, I went to sleep!

Well, these three have been a real tonic for me today,

but what they've also shown me is that it really is important to

step back, to look after your mind, to do the exercises.

Yes, it would be lovely to treat yourself to a day at the spa,

but if you don't have the money to do that,

there are other things you can do to have a peaceful, relaxed life.

No-one helps us all hold back the years, I reckon, like

the nation's nurses, but with over 33,000 leaving the NHS last year

alone, where's the next generation of staff going to come from?

One place that's come up with part of the answer

is a school in Manchester,

which is putting health at the heart of the curriculum.

This leaflet is coming through your letterbox one day soon.

This year sees the 70th anniversary of the NHS, an institution that has

helped us all stay well and healthy in so many different ways.

And yet, many are worried about the NHS's own wellbeing in the next

70 years, as record numbers of staff leave, never to return.

However, there might be reason for optimism.

Welcome to Manchester Health Academy,

where they're putting the emphasis on holding back the years.

-Hello, I'm Bill.

-Hello, welcome.

Principal Kevin Green, head boy Jack, and head girl Lauren

are showing me around.

So what exactly is a Health Academy, then?

The difference with us and other academies,

our sponsor is the National Health Service,

the Manchester University Foundation Trust.

We are their only school they sponsor.

They provide us with a number of opportunities to get our children

into the world of care and hospital services.

And this is a school with friends in other high places,

namely the Manchester United foundation.

So why Manchester United?

Well, it's a way to demonstrate to children

the value of a healthy lifestyle.

So we do lots of work with the foundation.

It's a network, really, of, if you like,

advocates of the club that they want to give something to the community.

So it's not surprising there's a big emphasis on sport here...

Oh, brilliant!

..although not everyone can get full marks.

That's good, he just missed the net. Very close.

The idea behind the Health Academy is simple -

give young people a head start in health care by training them in

the skills they need while they're still at school.

And in the future, the NHS may depend on them because of its

staffing crisis, in particular, its problem getting nurses.

The head of nursing at Manchester's Metropolitan University

is Paul Tubbs.

We're facing a large number of staff in the NHS at the moment

who are reaching a certain age, who are retiring, and at the same time,

the number of candidates applying to do nursing is falling.

That produces a perfect storm of fewer entrants into the profession

while more are actually leaving.

And Paul can see one particular storm looming on the horizon.

I think that nurses that have joined the profession from abroad

have actually contributed hugely to the NHS.

With the Brexit agenda, we're not sure whether nurses from the EU

in particular will continue to find it attractive to come into the NHS,

and we have seen a number of nurses leave the NHS and go back home.

There's no doubt that a massive part of the NHS's success has been

down to the various waves of immigration since the 1950s -

with every position, from doctors and nurses

to porters and cleaners,

filled by generations of people from India, the Caribbean,

the Philippines and the EU.

Olea de la Iglesia is a physiotherapist

originally from Spain, who joined the NHS and 2002.

But in recent years, Olea has felt that things have changed,

both inside and outside.

By the time 2016 came,

we were basically being dictated how long we could see a patient for,

how long each appointment could be,

and I was actually afraid of walking into a new patient's home,

because I didn't know whether I was going to get abuse,

or whether I was going to be told that I was an unworthy migrant.

It did happen a few times, and that was enough.

Because when you're putting everything you have into this,

all you want to do is belong to be appreciated.

And if you don't feel belonging or appreciation,

you just think, "I'm wasting my time here."

So after more than 15 years, Olea is going home to Spain.

At the moment, there is already 40,000 vacancies

within nursing in this country.

And once a lot of us leave and there's more pressure

being put on the people that remain,

this is not going to improve.

And with one in 11 posts in NHS England currently unfilled,

could the solution lie in training more of our young people

to fill the gap?

Back at the academy, Helen Walker, Director of Health,

certainly thinks it's the way forward.

We're looking at employability skills,

obviously that's key for the future.

So every year, I have a plan which links my curriculum

to practical activities.

So, we will take the students to the hospital,

they do work experience.

There are about, what, 800 students at this school...

-Yeah.

-..at the moment, at the academy?

How many of them do you think will end up in the health care business?

In terms of our sixth form, I'd say that 60 to 70% of my students

get offers from university, and probably half of those

have gone on to do health-related degrees,

which is really successful and, you know,

that gives them real opportunities in the future.

Well, that's the view from the top, but now I want to hear

how the pupils themselves are preparing for the future.

I'm joining them in their social care class,

which today is focusing on the subject of ageing.

Quite appropriate, really.

Girls, can you write the title down, please, which is Later Adulthood?

And straightaway, I had a question.

Excuse me, miss, what's later adulthood?

Girls, can any of you tell Bill what age range

you were looking at for later adulthood? Carolyn?

-65 plus.

-65 plus.

That's not me.

OK, so we're going to be looking at anything

that can affect someone who is 65 and over.

Shelby, what do you think we're looking at?

Like the way something like your functions stop working,

like your legs.

-Your walking ability starts to decrease.

-Walking ability.

So those are mainly regressions that we look at in older age.

You know, there might be a temptation

to see a place like this as a bit non-traditional and trendy.

But being here today and seeing what actually happens

really gives us hope for the future.

Have you worked out what you want to do later in life?

I want to be a midwife.

Either a special needs teacher or a neo-natal nurse.

And a crucial part of making that happen

is getting pupils out of the school and into the sort of places

they can learn practical, first-hand lessons.

Today, the sixth-formers are at Manchester Royal Infirmary

to take part in a workshop

on communicating with people with learning difficulties.

Things that we use out on the wards to help patients communicate if they

can't talk to us, so by pointing and pictures.

That can be about how they're feeling, if they're in pain.

For the pupils at the Manchester Health Academy,

it's not just about qualifications,

but life-changing experiences as well.

Olivia is in sixth form and has just completed a work placement

in a residential care home.

Before I actually went, I didn't want to go, because I thought...

I thought it wasn't going to be for me.

-But when I went, I loved it.

-What did you like about it?

So, I formed a close bond with a lady called Lily,

she had dementia, but she always remembered me.

And we just used to sit there, I used to paint her nails,

and we just used to speak about her life.

And the key thing is, asking other people who know that person best

before you go in and do the activities.

The environment, your body language, your tone of voice,

will all make a massive difference.

Because he stated that he likes painting and art,

we suggested that they should put him in a coloured room.

And use short sentences and don't make it too confusing for him.

A lot of young people wouldn't find working with older people appealing

-at all, would they?

-That's how I felt before I started.

It's not what you think it will be.

And being truthful, I thought it was going to be, like, miserable.

But each person, that elderly person, they had a story,

and I wanted to hear every person's story.

I want to help people,

so that's why I want to go to uni to do social work.

# Those were the days of our lives... #

So, despite the difficulties the NHS faces,

is it still a good place for young people to set their sights on?

I would have to say yes,

because I am a nurse and have been for 50-odd years.

But, yes, it is very satisfying.

There is a huge range of specialisms that nurses work in.

In order to get more people into the profession,

there needs to be further education in schools.

I think the more they know about the range of opportunities that exist,

the more people will apply for health care working.

Well, it's been an interesting day at the Health Academy

and it's nearly home time.

But there's just one more thing I have to do...

Hello, students. We've learned a lot here today,

and I see that the future is safe in your hands.

So, as a token of my appreciation,

I know you're all Manchester United supporters, most of you,

but I'm going to give you something which I think is from a club

just as great, my own team,

the mighty Wycombe Wanderers!

-ALL:

-Boo!

I'll take it that's a no, then!

BELL RINGS

Let's just quickly give you the answer to our

What Was The Year That Was? archive quiz.

-Fiona?

-1994 is the year.

Oh, that was the year the...

That one... The Channel Tunnel opened.

-The Channel Tunnel opened! That one!

-Yes.

-We'll be open for business the same time tomorrow.

-We will. Bye-bye.

# Oh, yes, I do

# You know I love you

# I always will

# My mind's made up

# By the way that I feel

# There's no beginning

# There'll be no end

# Cos on my love you can depend... #