0:00:02 > 0:00:0570 years ago, plans for a revolution were made
0:00:05 > 0:00:08that changed all our lives in Britain.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12We're out to improve the health of every 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 > 0:00:25- OK, adrenaline.- He's had six adrenaline.- Six adrenaline.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27..to see how much it's changed...
0:00:27 > 0:00:32- Is that real?- ..to meet staff and patients...- Let me help you out.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38- Sorry, it's my first day here. - ..with extraordinary medical stories.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41- You died, basically? - For three minutes, yes.- Oh.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43It's quite emotional seeing you. Thank you.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Hello. I'm Miriam Margolyes
0:00:45 > 0:00:50and today I'm going back to the country where my father was born -
0:00:50 > 0:00:51Scotland.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55I will be travelling across this beautiful land to meet
0:00:55 > 0:00:59patients who rely on GPs in the most remote locations.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04- Oh! You're looking a lot better. Colour's back in your cheeks.- Yes. - That comes from that.- Yup.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07And I'll be going into the heart of the city
0:01:07 > 0:01:10to try to understand my father a little more.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14- Just look over here. Joseph. - Yes.- Aytoun Road.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18'So what are we waiting for? Let's have the titles, shall we?'
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Welcome to Glasgow.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36It's a long way from where I was born in Oxford
0:01:36 > 0:01:38but I've worked here many times.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40They say if you can survive a Glaswegian audience
0:01:40 > 0:01:43you can survive anywhere, darling.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Well, I wouldn't be surprised
0:01:45 > 0:01:49if you were wondering why this English actress with her posh,
0:01:49 > 0:01:54plummy Oxford accent is doing a programme about the NHS in Scotland.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00I'll tell you why - because it's in my DNA.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06It's where my father was born and bred
0:02:06 > 0:02:10but also where he trained and became a doctor before the war.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Eventually he moved south of the border where he married,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17had a family and started his own GP practice.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21And that's where I come into the story. Here I am.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Aren't I a little cutie? Even if I do say so myself.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28And that's Daddy and me.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I know Daddy loved working as a family doctor
0:02:31 > 0:02:35but growing up I never took much notice of what he actually did.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39So in this programme I want to go some way to putting that straight.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43'But first, I'm dropping in on my cousin Gloria to see
0:02:43 > 0:02:47'if I can find out a bit more about the Scottish side of the family.'
0:02:47 > 0:02:51- Hello.- Hello, it's me.- Come in, come in, come in.- How are you?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Thanks for seeing us. Come on.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01- This is a photograph of him as a wee boy...- Ha-ha!- ..with the hat.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05- Is that the Hatchi blazer? - Yes, it is.
0:03:05 > 0:03:11And that's my grandmother, Uncle Jack, Auntie Doris and Eva.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16- You did know Eva, didn't you?- Yes. Oh, yes. Yes.- She was a live wire.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18She used to say to me,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20- IN SCOTTISH ACCENT: "Do I have an accent?"- Yes!
0:03:20 > 0:03:22THEY LAUGH
0:03:22 > 0:03:26I'd say, "You do, Auntie Eva." She would say, "Och! I do not!"
0:03:26 > 0:03:31- She was quite offended. - She was. That's absolutely...
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- It just brings her back to life. - THEY LAUGH
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Daddy and his family must have had their Sunday best on
0:03:40 > 0:03:44for this photo because they really weren't well-off at all.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49In fact, when this photo was taken he would have been living
0:03:49 > 0:03:54in the Gorbals area of the city, which was known for its poverty.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57My father himself suffered from rickets as a child,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59caused by a poor diet and a lack of sunlight.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Perhaps more importantly though, he was also growing up at a time
0:04:04 > 0:04:07when some of the best minds in the country were starting to
0:04:07 > 0:04:12discover a link between social deprivation and health.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17There is a marked difference in the heights of boys drawn from different classes of society.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20At 13 years of age, the boys at Christ's Hospital School
0:04:20 > 0:04:25are on an average nearly 2.5 inches taller than those from council schools.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29A lot of the pioneering work was being done up here,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33led by prominent Scottish nutritionist John Boyd Orr.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39At the present time at the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen,
0:04:39 > 0:04:44a group of rats are being brought up on a typical poor working class diet.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Here is a typical rat from each group.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48The smaller rat received the working class diet.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52You can see how much healthier and more lively the bigger one is.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54I've always wondered whether research like this
0:04:54 > 0:05:00might have influenced in some subconscious way my father's decision to go into medicine.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04'Which brings me to my next question to cousin Gloria -
0:05:04 > 0:05:07'does medicine run in our family?
0:05:07 > 0:05:10'It seems it does, past and present.'
0:05:10 > 0:05:13- So Aunt Eva was a doctor's wife, right?- Yes.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18And his practice actually was in Springburn which,
0:05:18 > 0:05:23when he was there, was a very...a very hard area.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28- When I say hard I really mean hard men...- Tough? Tough?- Very. Very.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- But they adored him.- Do we have doctors in the family now?- Yes.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36You've got... You've got my gorgeous Monica's a doctor.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41- She's your granddaughter.- Ya-ha. Yes.- Therefore my cousin. Yeah.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- And is she a GP?- She's a G...
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Well, she's just finishing off her GP training, yes.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50- That's what she's going to be. - So she's carrying on the tradition.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Oh, yes. At the moment she's still going to save the world.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59She's very idealistic. She's young and I'm glad she's like that.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Well that's, I think, what my father felt.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Cos he worked in the East End in London in a very poor area
0:06:06 > 0:06:11and he wanted to give medicine to people who couldn't afford it.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17He remembered his youth and he felt that it was a good youth.
0:06:17 > 0:06:23That although it was poor, that people were decent and kind to one another.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28And I feel that somehow by doing this I'm getting closer to him
0:06:28 > 0:06:32and learning about who he was and why he felt the passion that he did.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36- That's lovely.- Yeah.- That's lovely.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40All right. Enough cousinly chitchat. Time for me to get going.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Can I have some Scottish getting going music, please?
0:06:43 > 0:06:46# I would walk 500 miles And I would walk 500 more... #
0:06:46 > 0:06:47Perfect.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52'First I'm travelling to see how health care is delivered'
0:06:52 > 0:06:55outside the city in the Scottish countryside.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58I love coming up here.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01'Getting out into the wilds feels like a real adventure
0:07:01 > 0:07:04'and I've certainly had a few of those.'
0:07:04 > 0:07:08My father never worked as a country doctor in a rural practice.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10He was always in the city.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16So I'm rather interested to see what being out in the country
0:07:16 > 0:07:19practising medicine is like.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21And to be honest in my mind's eye
0:07:21 > 0:07:25I think it's going to be a bit like Dr Finlay's Casebook...
0:07:27 > 0:07:29..and we'll see if I'm right.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38I wonder what the life of the modern rural GP is like up here
0:07:38 > 0:07:42so I'm heading to Lochgilphead which is part of the Argyll and Bute
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Health and Social Care Partnership.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47'The partnership look after nearly 90,000 people
0:07:47 > 0:07:50'spread over 7,000 square kilometres.'
0:07:53 > 0:07:57I've come to a state-of-the-art GP-run clinic in Lochgilphead
0:07:57 > 0:08:00which looks after around 10,000 patients.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I've even got a date for the day.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04- Hello.- Good morning. Good morning.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08- I'm Miriam. Nice to meet you. - Hector.- I'll follow your lead.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10- Let me carry that.- Thank you.- Right.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20'Hector lives in nearby Inveraray and every other Thursday
0:08:20 > 0:08:24'he makes the 40 minute trip to the clinic for a blood transfusion.'
0:08:25 > 0:08:30- So you've been coming here every week, is it?- Fortnightly.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- Every fortnight. - For three units of blood. Yeah.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- So that's what keeps me alive. - That's amazing.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42- Because I'm transfusion dependent. - Transfusion dependent.- Yes.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47So if I didn't get my transfusions I wouldn't be here.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- So this is it.- This is the room.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55- Good morning all. - MANY: Good morning.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59'It seems Hector has organised a welcome reception.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01'They've just finished their morning meeting.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04'As well as transfusions the nurses here also carry out
0:09:04 > 0:09:08'chemotherapy, under close contact with oncologists in Glasgow.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12'It's all very different to the conditions my father worked under.'
0:09:12 > 0:09:15- This is Colette. She's... - Hello, nice to meet you.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18- ..senior lady of the Macmillan nurses.- Senior.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20THEY LAUGH
0:09:20 > 0:09:23He doesn't come for the blood, he comes for the girls. That's clear.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28- That's what my wife says. - 'You can tell he's a handful.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30'Anyway, coat off, Hector settles down.'
0:09:31 > 0:09:37He may need new blood but there's still a bit of Braveheart in this old warrior.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40I won't need that. I won't need that, unless I've got to hit anyone.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- Heaven forbid. - THEY LAUGH
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Why are you putting your hands in a bucket?
0:09:46 > 0:09:51My veins have got, you know, with getting all the transfusions
0:09:51 > 0:09:55I've had, your veins sort of, you know...
0:09:55 > 0:09:58- Take fright.- Well, yeah.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01And the girls have got to look for one.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04This takes them up to the surface a bit more.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07The same reason we have the room nice and warm, it makes your veins
0:10:07 > 0:10:11stand out a wee bit better and easier to put the wee needle and the cannula in.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Even being here for a short while,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17it's clear this place is a world away from how health care
0:10:17 > 0:10:20used to be delivered in the Scottish countryside.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25# In the land of Bonny Scotland Lives a doctor of great fame
0:10:25 > 0:10:29# In a place called Tannochbrae And Dr Finlay is his name... #
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Back then it was all very much one man and his bag, on foot,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36unless he had a car.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38This is a promotional film of a Scottish rural doctor
0:10:38 > 0:10:42on his rounds before the NHS was ever set-up.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Good afternoon, nurse. I've brought Dr Wright with me.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49- How do you do? - Good afternoon, doctor.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51And how's the patient?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54She's had a restless night but she's a bit easier today.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57She's been fretting herself about Dr Wright here coming
0:10:57 > 0:10:59all that way from Inverness.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03The acting isn't up to much but you get the idea.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06All very well meaning but hardly efficient.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10- We should be back with the stretcher in about two and half hours. - About 5:30.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Back in the present day, the GPs wear a lot less tweed
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and leading the way is Dr Adrian Ward.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20He campaigned to improve the facilities ten years ago
0:11:20 > 0:11:22and is rightly proud of what they've achieved.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Well, Adrian, I'm knocked out by this place. It's extraordinary.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- Five-star. Five-star NHS.- We're very lucky. We are very lucky here.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30What are you actually offering here?
0:11:30 > 0:11:35Everything from the GP surgery to dentistry to physio,
0:11:35 > 0:11:41a social work department, there's a 24-hour blue-light-receiving
0:11:41 > 0:11:46A&E Department and we have 15 GP acute beds.
0:11:46 > 0:11:53- These photographs are of the old hospital before.- Yeah. That's right.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56It was a small timber building and it was falling to bits
0:11:56 > 0:11:59so really we either replaced it or it wasn't going to be sustainable.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03But the population has gotten bigger, things have just changed.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07You cannot provide modern care in a facility like that any more.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15We're miles away from any big city in Lochgilphead and miles away from
0:12:15 > 0:12:19big city hospitals full of highly skilled and specialised consultants.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23But Adrian and his fellow GPs have found a way of working
0:12:23 > 0:12:27with city-based doctors to create a local health centre
0:12:27 > 0:12:29far beyond a normal GP surgery.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33I don't know if you've noticed but I've been doing a lot of walking
0:12:33 > 0:12:39around so it's time for a wee sit down with a couple of patients.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- Now, what's your name? - Fariborz.- Fariborz.- Yes.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46- And where are you from?- I'm Iranian. - You're a long way from home.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49- Yes.- So what's the story? What happened?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52I had a heart attack on 31st of December
0:12:52 > 0:12:58when I was doing gardening around the house and then I felt a pain.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03I phoned my partner and she came home and brought me here to A&E.
0:13:04 > 0:13:10- As soon as I arrived in A&E I had a cardiac arrest.- You died?- Yes.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12For three minutes, yes.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14- Oh. But you've come back.- Yeah. - Because of what they did?
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Definitely. They done all the emergency here
0:13:17 > 0:13:21and then they sent me to the Golden Jubilee by helicopter.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23You must love this place.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27I mean, there are no words I can express
0:13:27 > 0:13:30to say thanks for what they've done for me.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32You know. Basically, they saved my life.
0:13:36 > 0:13:42'Val Willis, meanwhile, has been using the facility to receive treatment for throat cancer.'
0:13:42 > 0:13:46So, Val, I believe you're a member of the Thursday Club. Is that right?
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- Yes. - I was hearing about it from Hector.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52And what do you think of it here? It's pretty special, isn't it?
0:13:52 > 0:13:56- Absolutely marvellous.- And you're a regular here?- I'm an old hand, yes.
0:13:56 > 0:14:02- They all know you here.- Yes. - It seems very friendly here.- It is.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06And because it's all under one roof, everybody knows everybody else.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Seeing the difference between the world as it was before the NHS
0:14:12 > 0:14:16and how things are now is a real reminder of how far we've come.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19And yet I can't help but feel that the generation
0:14:19 > 0:14:24of doctors like my father were in part responsible for that change.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28'You see, he was one of those GPs who
0:14:28 > 0:14:33'took the best of the old way and applied it to the modern world.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35'And in that sense a place like this fulfils all
0:14:35 > 0:14:38'he worked for as a doctor.
0:14:38 > 0:14:39'It's time to go.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42'There's someone I need to say goodbye to first though.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47'He's just finished his lunch and will be heading home in an hour or so with a spring in his step.'
0:14:47 > 0:14:52- I've come to say cheerio, Hector. - Yes.- Can I sit down?- Yes, certainly.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- Yes.- Oh. You're looking a lot better.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58- The colour's back in your cheek. - Yes.- That comes from that.- Yep.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03Nice rosy cheeks. I've had one unit and I'm on my second now.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- It's not just the blood, is it? You like the girls.- Well...
0:15:06 > 0:15:08THEY GIGGLE
0:15:08 > 0:15:11They're very good to me I must say, and I'm very well looked after.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14- It was lovely to meet you.- You too, Miriam, I've enjoyed it very much.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17And I've enjoyed talking to you, learning about this gorgeous place
0:15:17 > 0:15:22- and seeing you go out of here, you know...- Yes, all primed up.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24- ..strong as anything. Bless you.- Thank you very much.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29- All the best.- Thank you.- Thanks. Bye-bye.- Same to you. Bye-bye.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Well, I thought I was coming into an episode of Dr Finlay's Casebook.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36I was very wrong.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39This is top-of-the-range, state-of-the-art,
0:15:39 > 0:15:44national health GP-driven local medical centre.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57It's truly beautiful out here but it really is off the beaten track.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01And even with a clinic like the one in Lochgilphead nearby,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05if you got seriously sick or injured you'd have real difficulty
0:16:05 > 0:16:07getting to somewhere you could be treated.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09And yet it was ever thus
0:16:09 > 0:16:13and something the Scottish NHS has had to cope with always.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Renfrew Aerodrome, besides being Glasgow's busy airport,
0:16:23 > 0:16:28is the operational headquarters of an air ambulance service to the Western Isles.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Air ambulances flying paramedics to remote areas has always been
0:16:32 > 0:16:37part of emergency health care in rural Scotland throughout the NHS's history.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40And in storms like those which have been beating around their coasts,
0:16:40 > 0:16:45this is the only means of bringing sick or injured people to the mainland hospitals.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49But the people I'm meeting today have taken it to a whole new level.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04This is the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service, set up in 2004.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Dr Stephen Hearns is one of its founders.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13We can actually fly to Orkney on this without refuelling.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17- OK, Miriam, here's your helmet. - Blimey. Thank you very much.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21I'm going to have to wear my sunglasses - it's a bit bright - to talk to you.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27So, I know what paramedics are and emergency services,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30but the helicopter? That's new to me. How does that work?
0:17:30 > 0:17:34There are 24 small hospitals in Scotland which don't have
0:17:34 > 0:17:39on-site intensive care units or fully staffed emergency departments
0:17:39 > 0:17:42so as well as two paramedics on the air ambulance
0:17:42 > 0:17:46we will deploy with a specialist retrieval consultant
0:17:46 > 0:17:49and a specially trained nurse or paramedic
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and we can really bring the hospital to the patient.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57In addition to that, we will deploy to patients with serious
0:17:57 > 0:18:01life-threatening injuries from car crashes or high falls
0:18:01 > 0:18:03actually at the site of the injury
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and we can provide advanced interventions
0:18:06 > 0:18:09which are life-saving, such as emergency anaesthesia,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14some surgical procedures, we can even give blood transfusions to those patients.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16So you started this. Is that right?
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Yes, I had finished training with the London trauma helicopter
0:18:20 > 0:18:25and I found out lots about how a pre-hospital service works
0:18:25 > 0:18:28but in order to prove that it was effective in saving people's lives
0:18:28 > 0:18:32and that it was feasible and cost effective,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34we had to start the service voluntarily.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38So we operated the service for three years initially on an unpaid
0:18:38 > 0:18:43voluntary basis and we got Government funding to establish
0:18:43 > 0:18:48a bigger service which is now fully funded by the Scottish Government.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52'All right, I hear what you're saying. "Enough chitchat, Miriam."
0:18:52 > 0:18:54'This is the part of the programme where the
0:18:54 > 0:18:57'celebrity, in this case, me, gets in the chopper
0:18:57 > 0:19:02'and goes for an all action test drive across the Scottish landscape.'
0:19:04 > 0:19:07RADIO: And look at this. Isn't it wonderful?
0:19:07 > 0:19:10You get the feeling of just being so free up here.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12RECORD SCRATCH 'Sorry, no.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15'I can't lie to you. The helicopter hasn't even taken off.'
0:19:15 > 0:19:21I'm terrified of helicopters so I'm just happy to watch it,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25look at it, touch it but there's no way that I'm getting in that.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27I'm off.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Found this motorcyclist in the road. Got the guy to give me a hand.
0:19:32 > 0:19:38Dr Stephen can show me the type of work they do safely on the ground.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41In the training room they're simulating a motorcycle crash.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44The airway is a bit noisy.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Simulation is something that we do every day here
0:19:46 > 0:19:49with the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51It says heart rate 100, blood pressure...
0:19:51 > 0:19:54This role-play is taken very seriously
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- and it's incredible to watch. - 100% on that oxygen.- OK.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01If you're doing this properly then people will get
0:20:01 > 0:20:05immersed into the situation and truly believe that they
0:20:05 > 0:20:07are actually in that environment, looking after that patient.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12'This would no doubt seem like something
0:20:12 > 0:20:15'from a science-fiction movie if my father saw it.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18'He always thought his best friend was his trusty doctor's bag.'
0:20:19 > 0:20:22I am the doctor's little black bag.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Describe to him as best you can what is wrong.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27I shall know then what to carry.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29'And yet what Stephen has to show me next
0:20:29 > 0:20:34'suggests we might not have abandoned that sentiment entirely.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37'Right. Time for a bit of show and tell, I think.'
0:20:37 > 0:20:42In two rucksacks like this we have essentially got an intensive care unit.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44You can see each of the pockets here are actually sealed up
0:20:44 > 0:20:47so two people with a two-person check-and-respond system
0:20:47 > 0:20:52have checked that bag and as soon as I see that that bag is sealed up,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55I know that everything is there and it's all complete.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58So you just grab the bag. That's what my father used to do.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01He was a GP. And when the call came in at night he just knew
0:21:01 > 0:21:04that everything was in the bag and he would grab it, but it didn't look like that.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Quite similar. Similar idea.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09We've got a lot of other equipment which is quite portable
0:21:09 > 0:21:11that we can take out to the patients.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16To people who watch us working at the roadside or in a small hospital
0:21:16 > 0:21:21it would appear that all the work takes place at that time, looking after the patient.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26Actually really that's only about 10% of the work that goes into a retrieval.
0:21:26 > 0:21:2990% of the time is in here in the cold light of day,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31making sure we've got the right equipment,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34making sure that we're simulating and practising so that
0:21:34 > 0:21:39when we come into that demanding, time critical situation,
0:21:39 > 0:21:44everything is at our fingertips and we know exactly what we're doing as a team.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48Very good. Time for me to continue with my own journey.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50So I'm headed back to the city.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00'And it's time for a confession.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03'You see, part of the reason I've agreed to take part in this
0:22:03 > 0:22:08'documentary is because my relationship with my father wasn't all it should have been.'
0:22:11 > 0:22:13He was a small man.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19Cautious, handsome, very principled.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24He always said, "You must never do anything wrong. Never."
0:22:24 > 0:22:28He did have a sense of humour but it involved teasing.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33He liked teasing me and I didn't like to be teased.
0:22:33 > 0:22:39I wasn't as close to him as I was growing up, as I was to my mother, who was very like me.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43But I loved him and deeply respected him.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48He came from a conventional Jewish family
0:22:48 > 0:22:51and of course he wanted a daughter who would get married
0:22:51 > 0:22:56and have babies and be a good Jewish housewife and cook
0:22:56 > 0:22:59and sew and all those kind of things.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02So I think I deeply disappointed him.
0:23:04 > 0:23:10And when he learned that I was never going to get married, that I was homosexual...
0:23:12 > 0:23:16..I think that that was a bad moment for him.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22It crushed him. And I regret it, of course, but...
0:23:24 > 0:23:26You know, life is what it is.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32This is a photograph which I'm actually quite fond of
0:23:32 > 0:23:39because it shows us enjoying a joke together. And we didn't...
0:23:40 > 0:23:43We didn't always enjoy jokes together
0:23:43 > 0:23:49so I'm partly on this journey of mine to go through Scotland
0:23:49 > 0:23:52and learn about the National Health Service here...
0:23:53 > 0:23:57..as a tribute to him because I think he'd have liked me to do this.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02It would have pleased him to think that I was interested enough
0:24:02 > 0:24:07and it would have brought us closer together.
0:24:07 > 0:24:13If he was still alive - and I wish he were - he would love this.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22Goodness me! That was emotional.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26It's all getting rather "Who Do You Think You Are?" around here.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29But as Daddy would have said, "Pull yourself together, dear.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33"You cannae mope around forever." So that's what I'm going to do.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38Although my father was a GP in England, I suspect his values
0:24:38 > 0:24:41and indeed his commitment to the NHS spring from his upbringing
0:24:41 > 0:24:45in Scotland and a big part of that was his Jewishness.
0:24:45 > 0:24:51'I'm off to the magnificent Mitchell Library to find out more from Dr Kenneth Collins.'
0:24:51 > 0:24:55- So your father was born... - Daddy was born in 1899.- Right.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58And your family were here a little bit before that?
0:24:58 > 0:25:02I think they were here in the 1870s.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07After 1890, 1891, there was a further wave of anti-Semitism
0:25:07 > 0:25:11in eastern Europe so by the time your father is born in 1899,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15these are kind of the peak years for migration.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Some of it through Glasgow.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20Many people were heading off for the States
0:25:20 > 0:25:23and Glasgow was a popular shipping port.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27So at that time what sort of health care was available?
0:25:27 > 0:25:31The Jewish Board of Guardians provided a kind of safety net
0:25:31 > 0:25:35for people in a rather patronising, you know,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38paternalistic kind of a way.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43And one of the great things which the community did was to set up numerous self-help groups.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Used to call it penny societies.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49They put by a penny a week and if they needed help,
0:25:49 > 0:25:54there were friendly societies and that...and that helped as well.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57One of the other sources of medication,
0:25:57 > 0:26:02particularly provision for the Jews who lived in the Gorbals,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06was from Christian missionary groups. Mostly evangelical groups.
0:26:06 > 0:26:12And they thought that if they provided free medication for
0:26:12 > 0:26:16the Jewish patients who had received a prescription from the doctor,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20they could take it to the missionary clinic
0:26:20 > 0:26:24and all that they had to do in return, instead of having to pay for
0:26:24 > 0:26:27the medication, was to sit through a session in the Gospel Hall.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30So you didn't have to change your religion?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32No, you just had to listen to a couple of hymns
0:26:32 > 0:26:36in the Mission Hall and you got your free medication.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42It's fascinating to think that my father's early experiences
0:26:42 > 0:26:45of a community providing free health care for the people
0:26:45 > 0:26:49might have fed into his eventual love of the health service.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54And yet when he first became a doctor,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58it was a full 20 years before the NHS even came into being.
0:26:58 > 0:27:03'On that very subject, Dr Collins has something of a surprise for me.'
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Well, Miriam, we've found your father's entry in the medical register.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12This in 1928 and it shows, if you
0:27:12 > 0:27:16can just look over here, "Joseph".
0:27:16 > 0:27:19- Yes.- "Aytoun Road."- Ha-ha!
0:27:22 > 0:27:26That was the family house where my aunt and uncle lived.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Actually, also a doctor. Dr Harold Kissen.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32It was called Pearl House because, erm,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36margolioth means pearl in Hebrew.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40- Yes.- So they put that on the door.
0:27:40 > 0:27:46He has graduated and registered on August 12th, 1926.
0:27:46 > 0:27:51And you'll see that in addition to his university degree from Glasgow,
0:27:51 > 0:27:56he's also been to Edinburgh to take what they call the triple qualification.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59- It gives you 13 extra letters after your name.- Hah!
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Triple qualification would have been taken just before the medical
0:28:03 > 0:28:07finals so it was good practice and of course if you didn't pass the
0:28:07 > 0:28:10medical finals you'd got the other one and you can still start work.
0:28:10 > 0:28:17- Belt and braces.- Very sensible and very practical, your father must have been.- He was. He was.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21- Yes, he was like that. He was a cautious man.- Right.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27- Where did you get your...?- My madness from? I don't know!- My mother.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Definitely the other side of the family.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38My father may have graduated in 1926 but it's when the NHS came in
0:28:38 > 0:28:42that I suspect the true fulfilment of his vocation came about.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46I think the values of the NHS fitted his own, especially the government's
0:28:46 > 0:28:51stated commitment to treat everyone regardless of their ability to pay.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54The first thing to know is that the whole service,
0:28:54 > 0:29:00the doctor in his surgery or the bed in the hospital will be free.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03There will be no more doctors' bills.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06The abolition of doctors' bills must have been exciting
0:29:06 > 0:29:11for patients who previously wouldn't have been able to afford health care.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15The National Health Service will include family doctors,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18whom you can choose for yourselves,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21and who will attend you in your own homes when this is necessary.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26It will cover any medicines you may need, specialist advice
0:29:26 > 0:29:29and of course hospital treatment, whatever the illness,
0:29:29 > 0:29:31special care for mothers and children
0:29:31 > 0:29:34and a lot of other things besides.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37In fact, every kind of advice and treatment you may need.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41If we cut out the money worries which illness brings
0:29:41 > 0:29:44then there'll be no reason to put off getting advice and treatment.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48We can build up good health instead of just trying to mend bad health.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54On the day the NHS launched, an astonishing 94%
0:29:54 > 0:29:58of the public had already enrolled, signing up for access to GPs.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03I want to hear what it was like from the patients' perspective
0:30:03 > 0:30:08so I've come to meet Neta, Sadie, Rosaline and Stuart.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13'They're a unique group who have all experienced life pre-NHS.'
0:30:14 > 0:30:17When the National Health Service was founded,
0:30:17 > 0:30:22- do you think that it probably was a big relief for people?- Yes. Yes.
0:30:22 > 0:30:28Yes, well, my mother had to pay £3 to the doctor.
0:30:28 > 0:30:34- £3?- Yes. To get my tonsils out. That was in 1944.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38- Was that a lot of money, Stuart? - Quite a lot, yes.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41I remember my mum taking me to the doctors.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45It was Dr Lymore and it was in Maryhill.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50And I think she paid about five shillings or something for the visit.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54I remember because I was just young then, you know,
0:30:54 > 0:30:56I can remember that.
0:30:56 > 0:31:02My father didn't work so we had what you call a parish doctor.
0:31:02 > 0:31:07- A parish doctor?- Yes. - Never heard of that. What is that?
0:31:07 > 0:31:15It was a doctor who attended folk freely who were on social benefits.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19- How many were in your family?- Eight.
0:31:19 > 0:31:25- Eight?- Eight children.- Oh, my! - One of eight.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29IN SCOTTISH ACCENT: You're a Bobby dazzler, dear! That's for sure!
0:31:31 > 0:31:36The NHS promised to end restricted access to private or parish doctors.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Instead, all doctors would receive payment from the state.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44Family doctors like my father now regarded themselves as public servants.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48For patients it must have seemed like a whole new world.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52'Needless to say, with such a big change, people needed to be informed.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57'And I've brought along the advert that was run in Scotland at the time.'
0:31:57 > 0:32:01I'm just going to start it off and you'll see what it's all about.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03You two have a look at that.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13This leaflet is coming through your letterbox one day soon
0:32:13 > 0:32:17or maybe you have already had your copy. Read it carefully.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21It tells you what the new National Health Service is
0:32:21 > 0:32:24and how you can use what it offers.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Remember all the leaflet says.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32Study the leaflet, then keep it by you. You will need it for reference.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34I was only just left school at the time
0:32:34 > 0:32:37but it was my sister was having a baby and she told me...
0:32:37 > 0:32:40I was up in the house when the baby was born and she was born
0:32:40 > 0:32:45on 31st May 1948 and I remember the doctor was in the house.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49The baby was getting born in the house and my sister said to me after,
0:32:49 > 0:32:53if the baby had been born a day after she wouldn't have had to pay.
0:32:53 > 0:32:59- But because she was born... - On the 31st, she had to pay for the birth.- A little bit too early.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06With the introduction of the NHS, Britain's health revolution was in full swing.
0:33:06 > 0:33:11And it wasn't just access to family GPs the new service offered.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Dentists as well were swamped with patients demanding free dentures.
0:33:15 > 0:33:21While for a generation, NHS specs were the fashion item of the day.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23But it was in the provision of medicine by chemists
0:33:23 > 0:33:26where the real revolution took place.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30At the start of the NHS, all prescriptions were free,
0:33:30 > 0:33:33meaning more lives saved.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37Though over the years charges have been gradually introduced.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39The old "bob on the bottle" prescription charge has risen to
0:33:39 > 0:33:42a shilling per item. But the doctor gets no more.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Costs are rising for all of us.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49For the healthy, for the sick, for the chemist, for the doctor.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51'But luckily, never for pensioners.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54'And when you get a group of oldies like us together,
0:33:54 > 0:33:56'prescriptions and pills are a hot topic.'
0:33:56 > 0:34:00I don't know what I would have done if I had to pay for my prescriptions cos I get so many.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04- How many pills do you think you are on?- I take 30-odd a day.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07- I reckon those pills have kept you alive.- Oh, they have.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Thank goodness. It's nice that you're here.
0:34:11 > 0:34:16- How many pills do you take?- Four. Four a day, that's all I'm on.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- And that's on prescription? - Uh-huh. Yeah.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24- Sadie, many do you take?- I'm on six a day.- I've got colitis.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27Ulcerative colitis. I had a bad bout of it.
0:34:27 > 0:34:32I take four of the yellow ones
0:34:32 > 0:34:36and then another about 16 of the white ones.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40- Every day?- Every day, yes. - I take two.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45One for high blood pressure and one for osteoporosis.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49'For heavens sake! This makes us sound like a bunch of pill poppers!
0:34:49 > 0:34:53'But to be fair, they've kept us all alive.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57'It's 95-year-old Sadie's story, however, that I find the most inspirational
0:34:57 > 0:35:01'in pointing out the difference between then and now.'
0:35:01 > 0:35:05I was in recently and had a lip replacement.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10And in those days I would never have been able to have done that.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14That's an amazing operation. What happened?
0:35:14 > 0:35:18- I mean, did you have a cancer? - Cancer.- And they spotted it...
0:35:18 > 0:35:24I had cancer of the lip and I got the vein taken from my arm and a new lip made.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27- That would never have been possible before, would it?- No.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32That cancer would have been left to travel all through my body.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37- Do you think we take the NHS for granted sometimes?- Yes, we do.
0:35:37 > 0:35:45- Are you glad it's there?- Yes. Well, I had five children so it was good.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50It's so important that people know that there was a time
0:35:50 > 0:35:55before the NHS came in and it makes them appreciate it more.
0:35:55 > 0:36:01And your memories and your recollections are so interesting.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06You know them all but to us they're new and so valuable.
0:36:06 > 0:36:07Thank you very, very much.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Of course, it would be wrong to say that the revolution that
0:36:14 > 0:36:19took place in primary care services 70 years ago has been problem-free.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21Far from it.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25We've all had experiences of that automated telephone system,
0:36:25 > 0:36:30stressed locums and those out of date, tatty magazines in the waiting rooms.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34I don't think anyone has ever enjoyed going to a GP surgery.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38But throughout the decades they've become involuntary meeting points,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41our first port of call when we're ill.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43'If we can get an appointment, that is.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48'So finally I want to end my journey by visiting a modern surgery.'
0:36:48 > 0:36:52Dr Jim O'Neill has worked as a GP around here for 30 years
0:36:52 > 0:36:56and I'm meeting him between patients.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01- Good morning.- Good morning. How can I help?- Can I see Dr O'Neill, please.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05- Of course you can. What's your name? - Miriam. Miriam Margolyes.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08You can only just see me above this thing!
0:37:08 > 0:37:13- It's quite a high counter.- Thanks very much.- No problem.- Thank you.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20- Hello.- Hello, doctor. Thank you very much for seeing us today.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25So, I want to ask you about the NHS here
0:37:25 > 0:37:29and I wanted to know what special problems you face here.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31This is north-east Glasgow.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36This practice and many of the practices around here are all
0:37:36 > 0:37:39in the most deprived practices in Britain.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43And we call ourselves The Deep End.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46And there is a special group of doctors called The Deep End.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50We are swimming in the deep end, trying to keep our heads float.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53I suppose the hospitals are the glamour end of the business
0:37:53 > 0:37:55- and you're the sharp end. - We are the gatekeeper.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57We decide who gets there.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02People have to go through us to get there and we're quite good at that.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06Does poverty play a part in the kind of illnesses that they have?
0:38:06 > 0:38:10Very much. Things have definitely improved.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Housing is better, people have got more jobs
0:38:12 > 0:38:16and people are more wealthy than they were 30 years ago
0:38:16 > 0:38:22but we still have the impact on their health of deprivation.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26A lot of it is to do with mental health problems, you know,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29anxiety, depression, stress about family.
0:38:31 > 0:38:37But also in addition to that, a lot of people have long-term medical
0:38:37 > 0:38:43conditions like diabetes and chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease.
0:38:43 > 0:38:49Just down the road from us here there's a 20 year gap
0:38:49 > 0:38:52between the life expectancy of a man
0:38:52 > 0:38:56living down the road compared to where I live.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00Which is just up the road. And that's not good.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04So it's fair to say the NHS hasn't solved all our problems.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07In fact, Glasgow's low life expectancy compared to
0:39:07 > 0:39:09the rest of the UK even has a name.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12The Glasgow Effect.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17It was around when my father was a lad and unfortunately it's still with us.
0:39:17 > 0:39:22Which makes free health care all the more important to patients in these parts.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25So to end my day I'm meeting a few of them.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27'Dr Margolyes will see you now.'
0:39:27 > 0:39:29- What's your name?- Joe.- Joe.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Nice to meet you. You've just been in to see Dr O'Neill.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37- What's he like?- Absolutely charming and very professional.
0:39:37 > 0:39:42- How long have you been a patient here?- Oh, 30 years or so.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46- So the health service has looked after you, hasn't it?- Unbelievable.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50I can't speak highly enough of the health service.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57My wife was diagnosed four years ago with breast cancer and within
0:39:57 > 0:40:04two hours, she was diagnosed, she had been given her standby,
0:40:04 > 0:40:08her named nurse, she had been told that she would need
0:40:08 > 0:40:11to have a small operation.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16Everything - blood tests, the whole lot was all done within two hours.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20- Imagine if you had to pay for that. - I couldn't. She'd be dead.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23I couldn't afford it.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26I've worked all my days from when I was 14 years of age
0:40:26 > 0:40:28and I could never have paid.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30You're making me cry.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35'Next, a patient I can really relate to.'
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Why are you here this morning? What did you come for?
0:40:38 > 0:40:41I came in to get my bloods checked. Blood and urine.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45- Cos I'm stage two diabetic. - Right. So that has to be watched.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48Yes, every three months I come in for a check up.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51Did they tell you to lose weight? That's what they always say to me.
0:40:51 > 0:40:52- Yes.- "You must lose weight!"
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Yes, they have. I have tried to lose weight.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58- It's a losing battle. - It's so hard, isn't it?- Really hard.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03I have the same problem, you know. And are there clinics you can go to?
0:41:03 > 0:41:05There is clinics there that I've been offered
0:41:05 > 0:41:09but just given the shifts that I work and I've still got kids at home,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12it's quite hard to fit it in.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16- So you're working at night then? - I work constant night shift.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20- Good luck with the weight. We've got to do it together.- I know.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22Think of me. I'm 74 and I'm still fat.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24You don't want to be my age and fat.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28- Jim.- Jim. Can I call you Jim?- Yes. Certainly.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32Tell me, why are you visiting the health centre this morning?
0:41:32 > 0:41:35To get prescriptions for my wife and myself.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38- Your wife is poorly too, is she? - Yes.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40My wife is confined to a wheelchair.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Oh, I see.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46Could you manage without the health service if you had to go privately?
0:41:46 > 0:41:50- No.- Do you remember what it was like before the health service?
0:41:51 > 0:41:54- Well, I've got a story to tell. - Yes?- I'm a twin.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59I was born before the health service started in 1948.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03They paid half a crown. So my mother only had one half crown
0:42:03 > 0:42:06and my twin sister was born and the doctor said,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09"Agnes, there's another one here."
0:42:09 > 0:42:14"Oh," she says, "Don't say that! I don't have another half a crown!"
0:42:14 > 0:42:17So I was born on tick.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21Ha! You were born on tick?
0:42:21 > 0:42:23THEY LAUGH I've never heard that before.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Well, that was a surprising and uplifting visit.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35I didn't quite know what to expect.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40But what I found was genuine appreciation
0:42:40 > 0:42:43and gratitude for what the health service is providing
0:42:43 > 0:42:50and in the person of Dr O'Neill a remarkable, dedicated man.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54And I'm very moved by it.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01'My aim in this programme was to try to understand my father's
0:43:01 > 0:43:05'real passion for the NHS. And I think I've achieved that.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09'I've learned what motivated him and I've experienced
0:43:09 > 0:43:12'the gratitude of patients whose lives have been saved.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17'Before I leave there's just one last call to make
0:43:17 > 0:43:19'to my cousin Gloria.'
0:43:20 > 0:43:24- Did you have a good trip?- I did. It was a wonderful trip, actually.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26I learned a great deal
0:43:26 > 0:43:31so I feel that the ideals of the National Health Service,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34which is to treat the patient's needs,
0:43:34 > 0:43:37regardless of who the patient is,
0:43:37 > 0:43:43it's still alive in Scotland and that's what motivated my father.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47So I feel that I've come in a full circle back to him.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49That's lovely, that really is.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52I'm so glad that you've been getting this lovely, good experience
0:43:52 > 0:43:55because you pick up the papers and you read all these awful
0:43:55 > 0:43:58things that happen and this is not right and that's not right.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02You're right. You do hear bad stuff about the NHS but, you know,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06when you go out and see people working in it
0:44:06 > 0:44:10and see how they care and how grateful the patients are,
0:44:10 > 0:44:15it reinforces, well, my personal joy that it exists
0:44:15 > 0:44:18and my belief that it has got to go on.
0:44:18 > 0:44:23And it's working in Scotland and that's fabulous.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26- You can't deny that. - I'm certainly not denying that.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29# But I would walk five hundred miles
0:44:29 > 0:44:32# And I would walk five hundred more
0:44:32 > 0:44:37# Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
0:44:37 > 0:44:40# To fall down at your door
0:44:40 > 0:44:42# When I'm working Yes, I know I'm gonna be
0:44:43 > 0:44:47# I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you
0:44:47 > 0:44:50# And when the money comes in for the work I do... #