0:00:02 > 0:00:0570 years ago, plans for a revolution took place
0:00:05 > 0:00:07that changed all of our lives in Britain.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10We're out to improve the health of
0:00:10 > 0:00:12every family and the whole nation.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Its name - the National Health Service.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20We're taking a look at the NHS then and now.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24- MACHINES BEEP - Adrenaline!- He's had six adrenaline...
0:00:24 > 0:00:27SIRENS WAIL To see how much it's changed...
0:00:27 > 0:00:28Is that real?
0:00:29 > 0:00:31..to meet staff and patients...
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Let me help you out. Sorry, it's my first day here.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37..with extraordinary medical stories.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41- You died, basically? - For three minutes, yes.- 0h!
0:00:41 > 0:00:44It's quite emotional seeing you! Thank you.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46- Surprise! - ALL: SURPRISE
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I'm Myleene Klass and there's one
0:00:49 > 0:00:54area of NHS care that means a lot to me - nursing.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56I need a doctor! I need a nurse!
0:00:56 > 0:01:00It means a lot to me personally because of one very special person.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03My mum. She came here as a nurse 41 years ago.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05You have so much courage.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07I'm so proud of you.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11- I love you, Myleene!- Oh!
0:01:11 > 0:01:14I want to find out her story and the story of the millions of other
0:01:14 > 0:01:17nurses who have made the NHS what it is today.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I'm starting my journey on the 10.36 service to Great Yarmouth.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43But I'm not travelling alone. Joining me is my mum who worked as a
0:01:43 > 0:01:47nurse in the NHS for eight years.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Aw! Look at you!
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Look at the shoes!
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Yeah, well, that's not exactly the
0:01:54 > 0:01:56- uniform shoes but...- I can tell.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58But I had just finished my shift
0:01:58 > 0:02:00and then we were just about to go to a party.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03And that uniform, was it nice to wear?
0:02:03 > 0:02:07I liked the uniform but the shoes, I didn't like.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10The shoes that we wear, I didn't like it one bit.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14- TRAIN ANNOUNCER: - ..To Great Yarmouth at 11.12.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17We're actually going to the hospital where my mum first
0:02:17 > 0:02:21came to in Great Yarmouth where she was training as a nurse...
0:02:21 > 0:02:23- when you first came from the Philippines, right?- Yeah.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27- Do you think you'll remember what it all looked like?- No, I don't.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31I don't. I'm sort of expecting lots of changes, I think.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35I mean you're talking about many years ago.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38- TRAIN PA: - Final station is Great Yarmouth.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40We're home!
0:02:45 > 0:02:48It's always special coming back to Great Yarmouth.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52This is where my mum settled when she arrived from the Philippines
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and it's where she fell in love with my dad.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58We lived here as a family and I went to school here, but the truth is,
0:02:58 > 0:03:03I really don't know a lot about my mum's life as a nurse.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06So today is my chance to fill in the blanks.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Mum worked in the town's Northgate Hospital.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Back in the '70s, it was a busy local hospital.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15Today, it looks quite a bit different.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20She hasn't been back here for over 30 years so I'm not sure how she'll be feeling.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21SHE LAUGHS
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Wow. Lots of change. This is new.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- This looks new.- Amazing.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34- What about the smell? Does that smell the same?- Lovely smell.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- Better smell actually. - Better smell. Oh, God.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42- I feel strange, I really do. - Are you getting upset?
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Quiet but...nice.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Aw, come here!
0:03:51 > 0:03:57I didn't think that I would feel it this way. 41 years ago.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00You set me off now! Oh, my gosh.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03It's clear that just being here is making the memories flood
0:04:03 > 0:04:07- back for Mum.- Oh, this is the one. I remember this.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10- Remember the rails?- Oh, my God!- Yep.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12But her experience isn't unique.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19That's right, now get the head well back, seal off the nose.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23That's right. Put your mouth right the way around her mouth...
0:04:23 > 0:04:26With a new dressing perhaps you'll sleep for a little while.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Thanks, Nurse.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31In its early days, like now, the NHS was understaffed
0:04:31 > 0:04:34and struggling to cope with demand.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Nurse?- Nurse?- Nurse!- Come quickly, please!- Nurse!
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- My children need you!- Nurse!
0:04:40 > 0:04:41In response, the service looked to
0:04:41 > 0:04:43recruit people from all over the world.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Many of the nurses working in our hospitals today
0:04:46 > 0:04:49come from overseas and with the shortage of hospital staff
0:04:49 > 0:04:52as it is, it would be very difficult to run our hospitals without them.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57And thousands came from the Philippines, including my mum.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59It can't have been easy as an ethnic
0:04:59 > 0:05:02minority especially in very different times.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05I know what it was like for me as, like, second-generational, being
0:05:05 > 0:05:10a mixed race kid growing up in Norfolk, but for you as a first generation...
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Yeah. Well, you can feel it.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16You can feel inside you that they're a bit reluctant at first
0:05:16 > 0:05:21but then, I am there to do a job so I have to approach them first
0:05:21 > 0:05:23I have to inject myself to them
0:05:23 > 0:05:26and, well, you know, if they accept me, fine.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29If they don't accept me, I will still insist that they...
0:05:29 > 0:05:32- You know, I have to do something. - "I'm GOING to help you!"
0:05:32 > 0:05:38I'll have to do something for them to gain their trust,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40that I am their friend to start with.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I like that they didn't know if you spoke English.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Yeah, well, they thought that, you know, I can't speak English,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48until you open your mouth and say, "Hello everybody."
0:05:48 > 0:05:52You used to be an English teacher so you probably speak the best English!
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Yeah, but they don't know that, do they?
0:05:56 > 0:06:00I know that you told me that you used to love working in paediatrics
0:06:00 > 0:06:04- with the babies and also geriatrics with the elderly.- Yeah.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07But what was your hardest story?
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Well there's this couple and they are always together,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14always have their breakfast together, holding hands,
0:06:14 > 0:06:19and then one day, it was the woman who just turned up.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22And she was asking for her husband
0:06:22 > 0:06:25because they have to have breakfast at the same time.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28- So, he was a patient at the hospital?- Both of them were patients.
0:06:28 > 0:06:34And after that, she was told that her husband passed away.
0:06:34 > 0:06:40And, a few hours later, she went as well.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43She didn't say a word. She just said, "That's it".
0:06:44 > 0:06:47But it really, really got me. I didn't...
0:06:50 > 0:06:54I didn't sleep for a few nights. It's hard.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Because I've known them for a while.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01And after that,
0:07:01 > 0:07:07I asked for a day off because it's not easy to take in.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Especially when you made friends with them and...
0:07:10 > 0:07:14But again I was told that it's all part of the parcel of your job.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18You have to accept it and be strong.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22- So you didn't get that day off?- No, I didn't. They just gave me a cup of tea.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- MYLEENE LAUGHS What, the nurses did?- Yeah.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29It's been such an incredible day today, hanging out
0:07:29 > 0:07:31with my mum and just seeing her,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34come alive as she relives some of those tales from 41 years ago.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36I feel really fired up now
0:07:36 > 0:07:39and I would like to speak to some staff and nurses who are working
0:07:39 > 0:07:43in the NHS today and hear what they have to say about their experiences.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46I especially want to see how things have changed from how it was
0:07:46 > 0:07:50then to what is now. So, I've decided to head to Belfast.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53The Trust here is one of the biggest employers in the NHS
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and I'm coming to one of its busiest hospitals -
0:07:56 > 0:08:00the Royal Victoria Hospital in the west of the city.
0:08:00 > 0:08:01The hospital was already well established
0:08:01 > 0:08:04when the NHS started but it's grown a lot.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07And today Belfast Trust hospitals and services care for over
0:08:07 > 0:08:09a million people a year.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14'I'll be based in Ward 4A. A fracture unit.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18'As with the early NHS, many of the staff here come from overseas
0:08:18 > 0:08:21'including quite a few from the Philippines.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23'And they seem to know my mum!' Did you hear that?!
0:08:23 > 0:08:26DID YOU HEAR THAT?!
0:08:26 > 0:08:28"How's your mum?" I know!
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Among the Filipino nurses on the ward is Leonila Agonia.
0:08:33 > 0:08:39- So, I have to ask you, when did you come over?- 2003. Way back in 2003.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42- 13 years ago.- So what made you come here?
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Oh, well, I just tried to take a chance, you know
0:08:46 > 0:08:50to widen the horizon of my nursing profession.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- We don't have anything like the NHS in the Philippines.- No.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57It's different, it's a big, big difference.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Well, you have to be able to look after yourself and your family.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03You have to be able to find yourself over there, but here...
0:09:03 > 0:09:06The country looks after the country.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10My mum, when she came over, she wanted just to go somewhere cold.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Why is that? Why would you want to be cold? We all want to be hot!
0:09:14 > 0:09:16- I'm second-generation though. - I know, I know.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Do you think that your mum still likes here after all these years?
0:09:19 > 0:09:21My mum can't cope with the heat.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- Can't tolerate it any more. Me too. Me too.- THE ACCENT!
0:09:25 > 0:09:29- Is she picking up the accent? - Yeah!- Oh, aye!- Oh, aye!
0:09:29 > 0:09:31LAUGHTER
0:09:31 > 0:09:32Oh, aye.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Ward 4A is part of a modern wing of the Royal Victoria.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Everything around here is shiny bright but I want to see
0:09:40 > 0:09:43how the hospital would have looked before it was taken
0:09:43 > 0:09:47over by the NHS. So I've come deep into the old part of the hospital.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Old Victorian wards like this were built in very different times.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I'm just weary and fed up with it....
0:09:55 > 0:09:58And the cockroaches, well, till lately,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00they've been eating us alive.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03And I think it's downright shame that we should live under
0:10:03 > 0:10:05these conditions.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Average life expectancy was around 50 and the
0:10:07 > 0:10:11main causes of death were infectious and respiratory in nature.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Many poor house hospitals were seen more as gateways to the
0:10:14 > 0:10:17funeral parlour than places to get better.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19And that's only if you could get in.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Prior to the NHS, medical treatment in places like the Royal
0:10:22 > 0:10:25would've been mainly for those who could afford it.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30I'm joining former surgeon Professor Richard Clarke in one
0:10:30 > 0:10:32of the original corridors.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35So we're obviously in the Victorian quarter of the hospital
0:10:35 > 0:10:38but when was this actually built?
0:10:38 > 0:10:43Well, it was built in 1900, 1901,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and then it was finally opened in 1903.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Ooft. They threw it up!
0:10:49 > 0:10:52What about all these arches that we see here with the names above them?
0:10:52 > 0:10:55These arches, there were originally 17 wards so
0:10:55 > 0:11:01the arches lead into to the 17 wards that were off the corridor.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05And then there were three more wards added later.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09Each ward had its own kitchen, its own operating theatre in the case
0:11:09 > 0:11:14of the surgical wards, but basically the wards had 20 patients in them,
0:11:14 > 0:11:19originally no curtains around the beds, they were just packed.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21- All in there together like sardines. - Yes.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26When the 1946 NHS Act came into force,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Victorian hospitals like the Royal were taken out of private hands
0:11:29 > 0:11:32and into control of the state.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Nurses and doctors would now give their services to people
0:11:35 > 0:11:37free at the point of use.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40It was a breath of fresh air for patients of all social classes
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and in the case of the Royal, that meant in more ways than one
0:11:43 > 0:11:47as the hospital's revolutionary air conditioning system now
0:11:47 > 0:11:49became for the benefit of all.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Today, the engineers have fired it up for me.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59It's smelly, noisy and kind of beautiful.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02How ahead of its time was this machine?
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Well, it was ahead in the sense that it was the first purpose-built
0:12:06 > 0:12:09air-conditioned hospital in the world.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14These engines drive enormous hand blades and they suck in the air
0:12:14 > 0:12:18from the street and the air is purified and humidified.
0:12:27 > 0:12:28Wow.
0:12:30 > 0:12:35- Wow!- Yes. This is the van. Enormous, isn't it?
0:12:37 > 0:12:39It's huge!
0:12:39 > 0:12:41And freezing!
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- SHE LAUGHS - Yes.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Yes, Well, it takes a big fan to bring in enough air to
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- supply all those 20 wards. - And it's still supplying now?
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- 20 wards. No, no, because the wards have been pulled down now.- Oh.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59- So this is not really used for that purpose at all.- What's it used for now?
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Well, nothing, it's just ornamental.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Huge ornament!
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Young men and small boys who like the look of it...
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- You've shown me one air con unit that's still running 100 years later.- Yes.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Being in the older part of the Royal Victoria Hospital,
0:13:16 > 0:13:17seeing the turbines,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20the plaques above the wards named after the great and the good that
0:13:20 > 0:13:24helped finance them, you get a real sense of history of the place.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26However, call me biased here, you
0:13:26 > 0:13:29can't help thinking that the back bone of this hospital,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33and actually all the hospitals across the UK, is down to this lot.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Up on Ward 4A, it's nearly lunchtime.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42And the food is being plated up.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46It's a task carried out by those known as the domestic staff.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49They've been on the wards since before even my mum's time.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- NEWSCASTER:- Unless the team is complete with its domestic workers,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56it cannot function efficiently.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Without their support, hospitals could not carry on.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Already wards have had to be closed for lack of domestic help.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06Patients are waiting to come in,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09but unfortunately the matron has no alternative.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13This is really important work and a job you can be proud of doing.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Please, come and help us.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Today, I'll be doing just that.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Reporting for duty. Hi, Sister!
0:14:20 > 0:14:22- Hello!- Hi!
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- What do you think?- Oh, looking well. - Right.- Are you ready for this?
0:14:26 > 0:14:30- I am ready.- OK. Basically, you're just going to be
0:14:30 > 0:14:32asking for each one of them throughout that menu.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Great, OK. Hi, Tita, please may I have a roast chicken...
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Roast chicken.
0:14:38 > 0:14:44With mashed carrot and turnips, and mashed potatoes with gravy.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49- This is Noreena.- Is this my dinner, is it?- Your dinner is coming.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53I've got your dinner. Let me help you out.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Sorry, it's my first day here.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58You should take me glasses off...
0:14:58 > 0:14:59No, you're fabulous.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01- Hugh.- Hugh?
0:15:01 > 0:15:06Hello, sir. Dinner is served. And it looks good.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09You've got chicken, you've got mash, you've got turnip.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12You want custard? Do you know, I knew it.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I'm going to get you some custard.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17- Extra.- Hurry back. - I will hurry back.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22- What's your name, Sir?- Ray.- Ray. Nice to meet you, I'm Myleene.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28- I will be serving your ice cream and jelly today.- Lovely.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Ice cream and jelly, I mean, stuff of dreams.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33- Stuff of dreams all right. - Stuff of dreams.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37- Thank you, my darling, thank you very much.- You are very welcome, sir.
0:15:42 > 0:15:43I mean, that looks amazing.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Da-dada-da-dada-da!
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Stick to the piano.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53MYLEENE LAUGHS
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Did you hear that? "Stick to the piano," he said.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01The meals served in the Royal these days are made off-site
0:16:01 > 0:16:04and transported in on a daily basis.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Back in the early days of the NHS, however, food would have all
0:16:07 > 0:16:11been cooked within the hospital itself where, it's fair to say,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14it gained a reputation for being less than scrumptious.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19So, how does this modern grub taste? Only one way to find out.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22I'm probably not supposed to do this but it looks so good!
0:16:22 > 0:16:26- Can I try the pudding? - Yes, of course. Yeah.- Oooh!
0:16:26 > 0:16:29- You like the custard? - I love custard!- Oh, very good.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Hospital food rocks. Ta-da!
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Not that such praise will get me out of the washing up, of course.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48OK, so push in.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Got it!
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I know that Ward 4A is very different in design to what
0:16:56 > 0:16:59wards would have been like when NHS first started.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02But I'm also wondering if the atmosphere was any different.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Back then hospital wards were run by matrons
0:17:05 > 0:17:08and nurses worked under strict rules.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11I have to be honest, my knowledge of this era comes
0:17:11 > 0:17:14mostly from the Carry On movies, with Hattie Jacques terrorising
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Kenneth Williams and the gang.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20- Good morning, Doctor.- Morning. Get your clothes off. I'll with you in a minute.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22I don't think that'll be necessary, thank you, Doctor.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- Oh, I'm awfully sorry, I wasn't expecting you, Matron.- Obviously.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27So how different is it today?
0:17:27 > 0:17:32In charge of Ward 4A isn't Matron, but Head Sister, Sinead Dalfarge.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Sinead, you're the ward sister here. What's it like?
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- Do you rule with an iron fist? - I wish I did. I wish I did.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Then maybe the rest of them would just run with me, so they would.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Unfortunately it's not that here.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45I have a great team of nurses behind me.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Now, don't get me wrong we do have our bad days.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Staffing can be an issue at times, as we well know.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53But I have to say that they do get on with it,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56they muck in, get-together work it out, so they do.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00- But generally overall, they're happy.- We love you, Sister.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02- We love you!- There you go.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- There is clearly a lot of camaraderie here.- There is.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07- A lot of banter.- There is.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10But I have to say, they do get on very well
0:18:10 > 0:18:11there's a good team.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14My mum's a nurse and she's talked about how you get through
0:18:14 > 0:18:17the dark days together, like a couple that died within hours of
0:18:17 > 0:18:20each other, it's just something that I don't think you can ever forget.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Especially if somebody that's been here for weeks,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26and say does get very unwell and unfortunately does pass
0:18:26 > 0:18:29away you can see it with the nurses and it does really affect them.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34- It does.- That's why you all then just club together again.- You do.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38- As a big family.- You do. Everybody's there to support each other.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Sentiments I think my mum would agree with.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44As is Sinead's answer to my next question.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48- What would you say is special about nursing?- Helping patients.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50I have to manage a ward, I have to manage staff,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53but at the end of the day if you've got a patient and especially a
0:18:53 > 0:18:55very ill patient and you manage to see them
0:18:55 > 0:18:58through from the preoperative period right through operation,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01postoperation, to seeing them go out the door, it really lifts it,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03and that's what makes it all worthwhile.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07The story of the kind of modern patient care
0:19:07 > 0:19:10that Sinead is talking about began with a massive period of NHS
0:19:10 > 0:19:13investment and expansion in the 1960s.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15The hospitals built in Victorian times
0:19:15 > 0:19:19and taken over by the NHS were seen as no longer fit for purpose.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- NEWSCASTER:- Asbestos sheeting, corrugated iron, hardboard timber...
0:19:25 > 0:19:27There's no longer any room for more.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31It's hard to realise that this is a key hospital serving a large
0:19:31 > 0:19:32area in 1958.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39The health revolution actually started here, in Northern Ireland.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Up the road from Belfast, at Altnagelvin Hospital, in Londonderry.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Opened in 1960, it was the first entirely new hospital to be
0:19:47 > 0:19:49built by the NHS.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Five decades on and they're
0:19:51 > 0:19:54in the middle of building a brand-new cancer centre.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Patients will come in here, basically they'll go this way for radiotherapy
0:19:58 > 0:20:03planning and treatment and they'll go this way into chemotherapy.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Historian, Sean Lucey has agreed to meet me here.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08After our short tour he's taking me
0:20:08 > 0:20:10through the hospital's original plans.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15These are the original designs of the hospital dating from 1952.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20And we can see here the multistorey aspect of the hospital
0:20:20 > 0:20:23starting off with the operating theatres on the seventh floor,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26the laboratories below that, two maternity wards on the
0:20:26 > 0:20:30fifth and fourth floor, radiography, that's third floor.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33So, just looking at it, it looks quite simplistic.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36At the time was this something that was quite progressive?
0:20:36 > 0:20:39At the time, this was highly revolutionary because it was
0:20:39 > 0:20:41such an unusual building.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43It was initially described as, "a Mediterranean
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- hotel" in the local press! - THEY LAUGH
0:20:46 > 0:20:50- Hugely progressive. - Hugely progressive!
0:20:50 > 0:20:53And highly reflective of the time period when people had
0:20:53 > 0:20:56confidence in the future and had confidence in the capacity
0:20:56 > 0:20:59for new technology, medical technology.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08A new hospital building programme is underway...
0:21:08 > 0:21:12It's amazing to think that my mum was beginning her NHS career
0:21:12 > 0:21:14when all this incredible change was happening.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19It was a period when the population was booming,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23society was changing fast, and the NHS had to keep up.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26We even saw the first computers.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- NEWSCASTER:- At King's College hospital in London,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31they're already trying out a prototype computer that can
0:21:31 > 0:21:35not only help doctors decide on treatment, but also run a hospital.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- Logan, how is he? - He's doing very well.- Good.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Let's just have a look at this screen.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46This is the sort of equipment we will be using in the years to come.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49And in the next 20 years it will be a commonplace thing in all
0:21:49 > 0:21:51hospitals in Great Britain.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54So what impact did all this technological change
0:21:54 > 0:21:56have on the nurses?
0:21:56 > 0:21:59So things were progressing very quickly in the '60s.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01All these buildings were being made,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04but you need nurses to help facilitate them.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07So, my mum got the call to come over from the Philippines in the '60s.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Of course! Because there was this whole new hospital plan introduced,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16and there was this whole range of new hospitals developed like this.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19So presumably, that must have been a really exciting time to be
0:22:19 > 0:22:22working in the health service. How did this all affect nursing?
0:22:22 > 0:22:24It actually affected nursing dramatically,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26because there was this enhanced medical technology
0:22:26 > 0:22:31and of course, the people who had to use the technology were the nurses.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Well, nurses always know more than the doctors. Fact.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- Of course they do! - THEY LAUGH
0:22:37 > 0:22:41And this was recognised in 1967 when one of the most significant
0:22:41 > 0:22:43moments in nursing history took place.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47The Salmon Report recommended a change to the senior nursing structure.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48All nurses of the future
0:22:48 > 0:22:52were to be given more contact with patients and greater responsibility.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57- NEWSCASTER:- A new kind of nurse, far from the Florence Nightingale image.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00A medical technician with electronic as well as medical training
0:23:00 > 0:23:03dealing with machines as well as people.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06I'm meeting two ladies who were here right
0:23:06 > 0:23:08when the hospital opened,
0:23:08 > 0:23:10to find out how they reacted to these changes.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Ursula Clifford was just beginning her career
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and was here before even the patients.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Kathleen Gallagher came from the local Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and arrived a few weeks later.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24So, Kathleen, what have you got there?
0:23:24 > 0:23:28I have got a cutting from the Belfast newsletter, February 2nd, 1960.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30"Londonderry's new hospital."
0:23:30 > 0:23:33This is the matron that we had then. Miss Betty Boyce.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- What kind of matron was she? - She was just a lovely matron.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40When she saw something on her ward rounds, she would have
0:23:40 > 0:23:44come back up in the afternoon again to make sure it was looked about.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- And brought her little dog. - Dog?!- She had a dog, a Dachshund.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50You're kidding me. On the wards? I don't know if that would be
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- allowed now, would that be? - Oh, not at all.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56- And you've kept that all this time? - Oh, I did of course, yes.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Sure, it's lovely to look back on these things.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Can you show me what you've brought? What have you got there, Ursula?
0:24:01 > 0:24:05- Well, I really think that this is me here in the canteen.- Oh, look!
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Look at your uniform. It's lovely.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12You had a dress, an apron, cuffs and a cap.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- It's lovely. So smart.- And a collar.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18And a collar. All stiffly starched.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20So, did you spend all day having to clean your uniforms as well?
0:24:20 > 0:24:25Oh, no, no, no, no, we'd the new big laundry over across the way.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28- Of course, it was all new now! - Oh, yes! Big, big laundry.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30And everything, you packed up at the end of the each week.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34You packed up your unclean uniforms and over they went
0:24:34 > 0:24:36to the laundry and back they came
0:24:36 > 0:24:39with your name on, all very nice and clean.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42You could say you could face an army. It would give you great
0:24:42 > 0:24:44encouragement when you had your cap on you.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51My mum, however, was not a huge fan of the shoes.
0:24:51 > 0:24:52Did you feel the same way?
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Well, the thing is that you were supposed to wear sensible shoes
0:24:55 > 0:25:01because you walked so much. And you had to make sure they were black.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03- Yeah.- And that they were shining.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08So what were the biggest changes?
0:25:08 > 0:25:13The thing for me as the most junior person in the hospital
0:25:13 > 0:25:17was the bedpan washer. Marvellous invention!
0:25:17 > 0:25:21- Marvellous invention because before...- Hand? By hand?- Yeah!
0:25:21 > 0:25:24- Of course.- And now you had this machine
0:25:24 > 0:25:27and you walked in and you dumped it all in and pushed the door. Out came
0:25:27 > 0:25:30- the...- Like a dishwasher? - Oh, beautiful!
0:25:30 > 0:25:33So you're not doing the bedpans any more, what are the bigger changes?
0:25:33 > 0:25:36You did away with the Nightingale wards.
0:25:36 > 0:25:37The Nightingale wards where you
0:25:37 > 0:25:40would have had a big, big, big ward full of beds.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Now you had four-bed wards, single rooms,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46and the biggest ward was the six bedded ward.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49So really there was more walking and looking after
0:25:49 > 0:25:52the patients but their privacy was well improved.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Kathleen, what about you? What was the biggest difference between the
0:25:56 > 0:25:58old school kind of nursing and then moving here?
0:25:58 > 0:26:02The one thing that I thought about being theatres.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06The patient came in the bed that they were in, in the ward
0:26:06 > 0:26:08went into theatre, they were anaesthetised on their bed
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and lifted onto the theatre table.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Now I had left a hospital where I had a canvas on my table
0:26:14 > 0:26:17which we put two long poles into and two bars and you
0:26:17 > 0:26:20rang a wee bell three times and a porter
0:26:20 > 0:26:24and a nurse came in and they carried the patient upstairs or downstairs.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26So let me get this right? You would
0:26:26 > 0:26:30have to carry, manually, a stretcher up and down flights of stairs.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31That's correct.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35We were on the middle floor. Down one flight and up two flights.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Being introduced to the lifts here must have been like a dream come true.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Of course. And it was just you rolled a patient onto the bed.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47There was no physical lifting. It was just lovely.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52It was so lovely speaking to Ursula and Kathleen.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56They are just like my mum. When they talk about nursing, they light up.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59And to have been there at the start of a new era
0:26:59 > 0:27:02in medicine, it must have been amazing for them.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Back in the 21st century at the Royal Victoria Hospital in
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Belfast, Dr Paul Robinson has started his rounds.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15It's a chance for me to delve a bit deep into life on Ward 4A.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18- So, Paul, you're Junior Doctor here on the ward?- That's right, yeah.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Start of the day, what can I expect? What's happening here?
0:27:21 > 0:27:26Well, basically, I'm from the medical team, so my job basically is to make sure that
0:27:26 > 0:27:30all of the sick and elderly patients are sort of fit to go to theatre.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And this is primarily a word for fractures?
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Yes, fracture unit. One of the fracture wards here.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39- And how many patients do have at the moment here?- I think it's about 24. Thereabouts.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Is that busy? Is that a lot?
0:27:41 > 0:27:43It is quite a lot. There's not very
0:27:43 > 0:27:47many staff between the 24 patients, so yeah, it is quite busy, you know.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51- So, you're talking to the daughter of a nurse.- OK.- So, tread carefully.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53I think I know what the answer is to that.
0:27:53 > 0:27:54THEY LAUGH
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Who's in charge? Because there kind of has always historically been the
0:27:58 > 0:28:02doctors knowing more than the nurses but really the nurses knowing more than the doctors.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07We like to think we're in charge but I think, really deep down, the nurses run the ward.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10- They make sure we're doing our jobs. - Saved yourself.
0:28:10 > 0:28:11You saved yourself because you're
0:28:11 > 0:28:14outnumbered because there's a lot of nurses in that direction.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Most of the operations that take place on this word are pretty
0:28:18 > 0:28:23routine. People who have experienced falls or nasty knocks.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25But being here, I can't help thinking about the incredible
0:28:25 > 0:28:30breakthroughs in surgery that have happened because of the NHS.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33This was especially true from the 1960s onwards
0:28:33 > 0:28:36when some real medical firsts took place.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39The first modern hip replacement was carried out.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44The first liver and kidney transplant, and in 1974,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47the very first clinical use of a CT scan.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51It must have been so exciting for the likes of my mum to
0:28:51 > 0:28:53be around in those days.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57And the patients on this part of the ward are exactly the sort
0:28:57 > 0:29:00she would have looked after back in her day.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04'So, I want to say hello to some of them.' How are you doing?
0:29:05 > 0:29:09Oh, dear, Walter. What have you done?
0:29:09 > 0:29:14I have slipped on grass and fell and broke my ankle.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16I have a steel pin already in.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18This leg, I broke this leg earlier.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20So, really with those pins in there, you don't
0:29:20 > 0:29:22really need a surgeon, you need a mechanic.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26THEY LAUGH This leg's getting shorter and shorter.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30- What's the giant R for on the other leg?- This is just to keep the surgeons right.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35- To let them know it's this leg they need to operate on.- Oh, my gosh!
0:29:35 > 0:29:37I'm an old soldier here.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39So I've had a liver transplant here, I've been
0:29:39 > 0:29:41about the wards for a while.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45So, when you come back it's like a revolving door for you? The nurses must be like, "Him again."
0:29:45 > 0:29:47It's first name terms with most of the staff.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Knock, knock! Hello!
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Hi, Mary. How are you doing?
0:29:54 > 0:29:57'Next door Mary has just come out of her operation.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59'And she's still about woozy.' How are you feeling?
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Feeling a bit better than I was.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05So have they been looking after you here?
0:30:05 > 0:30:08- Have they taken good care of you? - Oh, yes, they're really great.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12The nurses and staff are good and the doctors are good.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16So I can see you've got lots of lovely cards here, have your family been to see you?
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Oh, yes.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20On the face of it,
0:30:20 > 0:30:24the Royal Victoria seems to be a very normal NHS hospital.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27The type of which you'd see right across the UK.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31But it's got a history that is anything but typical and
0:30:31 > 0:30:34certainly nothing my mum would have faced in quiet old Great Yarmouth.
0:30:34 > 0:30:35EXPLOSION
0:30:39 > 0:30:40SIRENS
0:30:45 > 0:30:48During the 1970s and '80s the Royal was at the centre
0:30:48 > 0:30:51of a conflict that tested the nurses' caring to the limit.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54The hospital played a crucial role in the troubles
0:30:54 > 0:30:57when over 3,500 people were killed.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Many more were injured and in need of urgent hospital treatment.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Here in the centre of West Belfast, behind the barbed wire
0:31:04 > 0:31:07and the soldiers, is, surprisingly, a hospital.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Its casualty department is in the thick of the fighting.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13While I'm here,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16I want to talk to some of the people who were on the front line.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18Kay and Lorna were experienced
0:31:18 > 0:31:21nurses and working as health visitors.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24But Jean had only just begun to train as a nurse, along with
0:31:24 > 0:31:26Horace here, at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28What was it like for them?
0:31:30 > 0:31:36You were in a war zone, so right outside the walls the shooting
0:31:36 > 0:31:40and the bombing was going on close to the hospital
0:31:40 > 0:31:44and all too often that war would spill into the hospital.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47A man and a girl had arrived at the entrance to the hospital.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50He was taking his friend from an X-ray and a lone gunman
0:31:50 > 0:31:53was waiting for them. He fired between three and five shots.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55The man fell to the ground bleeding...
0:31:55 > 0:31:58We were, most of us were 18, 19 years of age
0:31:58 > 0:32:02and going back to the nurses homes and getting into a room
0:32:02 > 0:32:06together with a cup of coffee, we really debriefed each other.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09We didn't realise what we were doing in those days.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12We'd just talked to each other and that was really what helped us to cope.
0:32:12 > 0:32:17I think that as ward sisters we weren't feeling enough of how
0:32:17 > 0:32:23young people of 18 felt with handling limbs, serious injuries
0:32:23 > 0:32:28maybe being handed a dead... One nurse was handed a dead baby.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33So, can I ask you, what part did the NHS's ethos
0:32:33 > 0:32:36play in the neutrality of how patients were treated?
0:32:36 > 0:32:41The neutrality came automatically. You didn't think about it.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46We had a full range of political feelings among the nursing workforce.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49And actually nurses from both those traditions recently have
0:32:49 > 0:32:52gone on the record to say that
0:32:52 > 0:32:57when they came to hospital they left their politics at the hospital door.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59You just accepted that you are a nurse
0:32:59 > 0:33:04and you are on their side, whatever it is, and you are on their side
0:33:04 > 0:33:07in terms of health because that's what we were trying to deliver.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11And that's something which I think our profession can be really
0:33:11 > 0:33:14proud because you saw the results of a bomb
0:33:14 > 0:33:19and yet, you had to keep how you felt about that to yourself, get on,
0:33:19 > 0:33:23do the job and look after the people who really needed you.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Jean, what was the hardest thing that you experienced? Or that you saw?
0:33:26 > 0:33:30In my first year of nursing inside a very short period of time I was
0:33:30 > 0:33:35asked to look after a dying soldier and stay with him until he died.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38He was blown up very close to the hospital on was brought to theatre
0:33:38 > 0:33:41and nothing could be done and he was brought to recovery room
0:33:41 > 0:33:45and I had never stayed with anybody before who was dying
0:33:45 > 0:33:47so I stayed with him,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50screens were pulled round and I just tried to make him
0:33:50 > 0:33:55aware that I was there and just wash off the dust of the bomb
0:33:55 > 0:34:00and he looked physically strong but obviously had a lot of internal injuries.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02And staying with him till he died...
0:34:02 > 0:34:04And then, inside a short period of time
0:34:04 > 0:34:07I was in another ward where I was asked to special, or be patient,
0:34:07 > 0:34:12just one nurse to one patient, with a young man who had been making
0:34:12 > 0:34:15a bomb and blew himself up.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19- And he also was dying.- Good Lord! You're kidding me?
0:34:19 > 0:34:24So, here I was with two very different sets of circumstances
0:34:24 > 0:34:29but knowing in my mind that there's no opt-out clause in nursing,
0:34:29 > 0:34:31you do what you're asked to do.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39The '70s were also an era
0:34:39 > 0:34:42when another battle was taking place inside the Royal Victoria
0:34:42 > 0:34:45and in hospitals throughout the whole of the UK.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47A battle between the sexes.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52Right up to the '70s, nursing was widely considered a female
0:34:52 > 0:34:56occupation, there to serve the mostly male consultants.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59But things were starting to change as this fantastic local news
0:34:59 > 0:35:02report I'm showing the gang, demonstrates.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05- Do you think of doctors as husbands? - They're like any other men.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09Big headed, selfish, conceited... You name it.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Well, I feel that a doctor treats a nurse as a machine,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14you run to his beck and call, and if I was his wife
0:35:14 > 0:35:17and I had to run to his beck and call, I don't I'd be too well pleased about it.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19There was one consultant in particular
0:35:19 > 0:35:23and when he entered the ward, everybody metaphorically,
0:35:23 > 0:35:25and sometimes physically stood to attention.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28And there had to be absolutely nothing going on.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32If a patient badly wanted the bedpan, he would have to wait until he had gone.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36So there was a very hierarchical structure at that time.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43By the '70s, the consultant-led male hierarchy was on its way out.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47And Lorna remembers being part of the revolution in a small way.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49On Sunday morning, the nurses,
0:35:49 > 0:35:54the new clean, white, fresh coats were put out for the consultants
0:35:54 > 0:35:57and doctors in the clinical room and it was the nurse's job to
0:35:57 > 0:36:01change the buttons, you know, from the dirty uniform.
0:36:01 > 0:36:02And the first rebellion I did was,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05I said, "You can change your own buttons."
0:36:05 > 0:36:10From now on, nurses are not changing doctor's buttons on doctor's coats.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12That is not nursing.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15But it wasn't just the females questioning
0:36:15 > 0:36:17the traditional roles of males in the NHS,
0:36:17 > 0:36:20men were also increasingly moving into nursing.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Something once considered a newsworthy curiosity.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Male nurses do the same work as other nurses
0:36:28 > 0:36:30and they have the same training
0:36:30 > 0:36:33although they don't usually work in women's wards or study midwifery.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36What sort of young men do you need in hospitals?
0:36:36 > 0:36:38We need, I think first, people with common sense.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41How does he react to pain and suffering?
0:36:41 > 0:36:44Well, at first it's not very nice.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48But one does get used to these things.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Horace was one of these heroic pioneers.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55I want to know what his early days would have been like on the ward.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00Your working colleagues were nurses. I didn't see them as females.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03I saw them as nurses and colleagues.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07So, it was nice.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Being surrounded by ladies. I didn't think of them in that context.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16You all work together. It was a working environment, so,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19I didn't see it as a male versus female thing.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22I just want to say thank you so much for your time today.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26I could talk to you all day. For hours.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30It's been a fascinating visit to the Royal Victoria Hospital
0:37:30 > 0:37:34seeing how it was then and now. But it but it's time for me
0:37:34 > 0:37:38to say my goodbyes to the people I've met in Ward 4A.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41It may have been a short visit, but I've met many people I won't forget.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45- Especially Leonila. - You're welcome!
0:37:45 > 0:37:49- Thank you. Yeah, no, I'd love to come back.- Aw! That's so nice.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53- Have you enjoyed your stay?- I've had a really, really, really amazing time.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55- Oh, that's good.- I really have.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59One thing I didn't expect was how I'd feel about the generations
0:37:59 > 0:38:03that had come before who'd paved the way for where we are now.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06When you hear about how they made these amazing sacrifices
0:38:06 > 0:38:08- and had to challenge themselves. - Yeah.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13When you think that they had to treat people that in normal life
0:38:13 > 0:38:16- they wouldn't even speak to. - That's right.- And yet,
0:38:16 > 0:38:18when you come into the hospital environment...
0:38:18 > 0:38:21- You make a bond with them. - Everybody's equal. Yeah.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25- Patients are all that matter. - Yeah, that's what they said! - And these girls here are great.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27My favourite!
0:38:28 > 0:38:31- Am I allowed to eat them? - Help yourself.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34One, two, three, four, five boxes of chocolate!
0:38:34 > 0:38:37- Yeah, every single day.- Oh, my gosh.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40My teeth would fall out if I worked here. Thank you for having me!
0:38:40 > 0:38:45- No bother at all.- Thank you. - Thank you for coming.- I have to do a photo with you!
0:38:45 > 0:38:47OK, ready?
0:38:47 > 0:38:51There, I can show my mum. Oh, my knee just went.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53I need a doctor!
0:38:53 > 0:38:55No, I need a nurse! MY KNEE JUST WENT!
0:38:55 > 0:38:59- Hello! Hello, Walter what do you think of the scrubs?- They suit you.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01- They're good, aren't they? - Super.- Super!
0:39:02 > 0:39:04"Sticks to ya where it hits ya"?
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Yes, it's not the most flattering lines...
0:39:07 > 0:39:10- I'm just going to leave it. - Best of luck. Take care of yourself.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13- Thank you very much for coming. Thank you.- Cheerio.
0:39:15 > 0:39:16"Fits ya where it hits ya."
0:39:17 > 0:39:20There's something very humbling about seeing the work has been
0:39:20 > 0:39:21carried out here today.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24The lives of the patients have been changed by
0:39:24 > 0:39:27the hard work that the nurses have put in on Ward 4A.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30And when you think about it, right across the UK alone, today,
0:39:30 > 0:39:34over 19,000 surgical procedures have been carried
0:39:34 > 0:39:37out for free at the point of delivery, to those in need.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40NHS!
0:39:40 > 0:39:42ALL: NHS!
0:39:43 > 0:39:46THEY LAUGH
0:39:48 > 0:39:50These last few days have really given me
0:39:50 > 0:39:53an insight into the how the NHS has evolved over the years.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57'It's also helped me understand my mum a bit more, too.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59'So, I've arranged one final treat for her.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02'We're off to visit someone very special.'
0:40:03 > 0:40:04Back in the 1960s,
0:40:04 > 0:40:08my mum viewed fellow nurse Denise Albin as her mentor.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10There were also best friends.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14She was at my mum's wedding and when I was born, she became my godmother.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16They haven't seen each other for a while,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20so, I'm hoping it's a nice surprise. So, have you twigged yet?
0:40:20 > 0:40:26- Have you figured out where we are? - Yeah, my friend's house! My word.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31- Fantastic. Really can't believe it. - Getting all emotional on me again?
0:40:31 > 0:40:32- Oh, my word.- Ring the bell.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37'I just hope Denise is in.'
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Hi!
0:40:39 > 0:40:41You!
0:40:41 > 0:40:43Oh, Bong!
0:40:43 > 0:40:45THEY LAUGH
0:40:45 > 0:40:46It's really nice to see you.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- It's good to see you too. - And you've not grown.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51THEY LAUGH
0:40:51 > 0:40:52No. Oh.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58- Thank you.- Come in. - Thank you for having us.- Wow.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02So, would you say you're like a family together?
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Yeah, and we had a very good group...
0:41:04 > 0:41:10- We had a good group on our ward, didn't we?- Yeah. It's just like teamwork. You know?
0:41:10 > 0:41:14As soon as we are in the ward and that's it, we help each other.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18My mum's first memory of you which she always tells me about,
0:41:18 > 0:41:22is you leaving her in a room with a dead body.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24I know, when anyone died on the ward,
0:41:24 > 0:41:28because we used to lay bodies out, then, I used to
0:41:28 > 0:41:33volunteer to do them because I used to want to do them fairly quickly.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37I didn't want to be asked several hours after they'd died so...
0:41:37 > 0:41:41Well, she said, "Wait for a while because I forgot something in the
0:41:41 > 0:41:45"station, the nurse's station." And I said, "No, you're not going to leave me here."
0:41:45 > 0:41:48So I followed her everywhere with my bucket.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52- She's followed you around ever since?- Well, she didn't want to be
0:41:52 > 0:41:55alone with a body so she's always followed me.
0:41:55 > 0:41:56THEY LAUGH
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Yeah. Fantastic.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03I found this, and I'm sure that you had one
0:42:03 > 0:42:05because I'm sure they were all filled in.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Yeah, it sounds familiar.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10- It's actually got Care of the Dying in here.- Really?
0:42:10 > 0:42:14And that would have been one of the procedures you had to do.
0:42:14 > 0:42:15'I brought along something, too.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19'Snaps of my time at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.'
0:42:20 > 0:42:23I wonder if my mum prefers the modern fashion a bit more
0:42:23 > 0:42:27- than the vintage getup she wore?- I like this a lot better.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Yeah, we always had dresses rather than trousers, didn't we?
0:42:30 > 0:42:36- That's right, yeah, yeah. I like that too.- Yeah, that's smart.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38The nurses I spoke to said that the pride that they had
0:42:38 > 0:42:40when they put those uniforms on, they said it
0:42:40 > 0:42:44was like putting on their armour for the day and they feel immense pride.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47- Yeah.- Oh, yeah.- Is that how you felt?- Yeah.- It's nice.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51My favourite bit of the uniform was the cloak. Did you have a cloak?
0:42:51 > 0:42:57- Yeah, Florence Nightingale. I kept mine, actually.- Did you?- Where?!
0:42:57 > 0:42:59I've been asking you!
0:42:59 > 0:43:03You didn't cut it up and make something of it, did you? Because... She was always sewing, wasn't she?
0:43:03 > 0:43:07- Yeah.- What did you do with the cloak?- Well...
0:43:07 > 0:43:09THEY LAUGH
0:43:09 > 0:43:15- I cut it because one of your plays. - What, I wore the cloak? You cut up your nurse's uniform?
0:43:15 > 0:43:18- No, I did, yeah. Yeah.- You owe the national health.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21I think you guys have more than paid back. I think it's OK.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Like, learning what I've learnt over the last few days,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27you have so much courage. I'm so proud of you.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34- I love you, Myleene! - OH! You are one strong lady.
0:43:34 > 0:43:43I am, I'm proud of both of you. OK, so in honour of your work, not only
0:43:43 > 0:43:49as a nurse, but of your services to fashion, I've got a present for you.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53Oh, no, you're joking.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56- Would you wear those?- No.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02No way.
0:44:02 > 0:44:07Seeing my mum and my auntie Denise, all those incredible nurses,
0:44:07 > 0:44:09both past and present,
0:44:09 > 0:44:13you realise just how much of themselves they give to our NHS.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15Time, love, caring.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18These nurses, they simply are incredible
0:44:18 > 0:44:20and they should be celebrated.
0:44:21 > 0:44:22Thank you.