0:00:02 > 0:00:0570 years ago, plans for a revolution took place
0:00:05 > 0:00:08that changed all our lives in Britain.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11We are out to improve the health of every family
0:00:11 > 0:00:13and the whole nation.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Its name - the National Health Service.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21We're taking a look at the NHS - then and now...
0:00:21 > 0:00:22Adrenaline...
0:00:22 > 0:00:24That's six adrenaline...
0:00:24 > 0:00:27..to see how much it's changed.
0:00:27 > 0:00:28Is that real?
0:00:28 > 0:00:31To meet staff and patients...
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Let me help you out.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Sorry, it's my first day here.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38..with extraordinary medical stories.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41- You died, basically. - For three minutes, yes.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44It's quite emotional to see you. Thank you.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Surprise!
0:00:45 > 0:00:47- ALL:- Surprise!
0:00:47 > 0:00:51I'm Eric Knowles and when I was a child, I spent a lot of time
0:00:51 > 0:00:53in hospital, seriously ill.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58Today, I'll be making a return in a real antique of the road.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00It's a beast of a vehicle, isn't it?
0:01:00 > 0:01:03I'll finally find out what was wrong with me
0:01:03 > 0:01:05using the latest technology.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08- Oh, gosh.- Cells which we call leukemic cells...
0:01:08 > 0:01:12And I will meet people who, while not being as fortunate as I was,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15are definitely a lot braver.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18You have your good days and your bad days, but eventually,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20time will get me back to where I was.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32'As one of the longest-serving experts on the Antiques Roadshow,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34'I get a lot of pleasure looking at the stuff that has
0:01:34 > 0:01:37'survived the test of time.'
0:01:37 > 0:01:39There is a good few cups in that...
0:01:39 > 0:01:4150 cups, 50 cups.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46I just turned 63 this year, so you might say I am well on my way
0:01:46 > 0:01:48to becoming an antique myself!
0:01:48 > 0:01:52But there was a time in my life, believe it or not,
0:01:52 > 0:01:57when it was thought that I might not even make my tenth birthday.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01'The reason I nearly didn't make it to my tenth birthday
0:02:01 > 0:02:04was that when I was nine, I was rushed to hospital
0:02:04 > 0:02:06with suspected leukaemia.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08It was a traumatic experience,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and it's the memory of what I went through and how I was looked after
0:02:11 > 0:02:15that has prompted me to take part in this programme.
0:02:15 > 0:02:22The idea of getting behind the scenes in the NHS, erm...
0:02:22 > 0:02:28Well, to be frank with you, it's a wonderful opportunity.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33And I am just intrigued to know how things work.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36And, more importantly, I want to meet the people
0:02:36 > 0:02:37who make it work.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43My story of Matron, Medicine and Me starts here in Burnley.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47This is the area where I grew up and where I first got ill.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49On this very street, in fact.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56Well, we moved to the street in round about... I think about 1954
0:02:56 > 0:03:00or something like that and we stayed here until about 1970.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04So, this is our house.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07And it really is in the middle of the street.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10This is where I spent my formative years,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14from being a toddler, I suppose, all the way through
0:03:14 > 0:03:16to being a teenager and a little bit beyond.
0:03:16 > 0:03:22My bedroom, top left-hand corner - it might be described as cosy!
0:03:24 > 0:03:26We were quite blessed growing up in this part
0:03:26 > 0:03:28of north-east Lancashire.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32We would go on walks and, basically, you would get your duffel bag
0:03:32 > 0:03:33and a bottle of corporation pop,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36which, of course, translates into water.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38A few sandwiches.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41And your mother would say, "Don't come back before five o'clock."
0:03:41 > 0:03:46'In April 1962, those carefree days came abruptly to an end.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50'I started to feel really ill. I don't remember much,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54'but I do remember the whole street watching as I was taken to hospital
0:03:54 > 0:03:55'in an ambulance.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58'I would be there for six weeks.'
0:03:58 > 0:04:01The man who mostly looked after me while I was in hospital
0:04:01 > 0:04:04was a legendary Burnley paediatrician, now passed on,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06called Dr Winston Turner.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10'And it wasn't just me he cared for, it was also my parents,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12'who needed all the help they could get.'
0:04:12 > 0:04:17I remember my mum saying, "It will only be for a couple of days or so,"
0:04:17 > 0:04:19and all that sort of thing.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24And, obviously, she was being economic with the truth.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28How on earth my parents must have felt
0:04:28 > 0:04:31having been told there is a very strong chance
0:04:31 > 0:04:34that your lad has got leukaemia...
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Because, way back then...
0:04:37 > 0:04:40that was a death sentence, back in '62.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45'Being a dad myself, thinking about the worry my parents
0:04:45 > 0:04:48'must have suffered, is bringing back all sorts of feelings.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54'It's like being back in time.' SIREN WAILS
0:04:54 > 0:04:56'In fact, I think I'm hearing things!'
0:04:56 > 0:04:58SIREN WAILS
0:04:58 > 0:05:00What is that?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11'But, no, this is real.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14'A surprise laid on by the producers.'
0:05:16 > 0:05:17I don't believe it.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Is that real?
0:05:20 > 0:05:21Is he real?
0:05:21 > 0:05:23You obviously haven't got a sat nav,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25because you're from Herefordshire County Council.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29- Hello, I'm Eric. Hello, what's your name?- John.- John.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32HE LAUGHS Well, nice to meet you!
0:05:34 > 0:05:37They say life is full of surprises.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39That's a monster machine.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42- Can I have a look around it? - By all means.- Thank you.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45By jingo, that was built to last, wasn't it?
0:05:45 > 0:05:48'Seeing inside the ambulance...' Wonderful.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50'..is bringing it all back.'
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Yes, I remember that bit. It is just the little things,
0:05:53 > 0:05:54only just.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57Ah, yeah.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02This is a posh one, because it has got lino.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- It's getting worn out now. - Yeah, I can see.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09'It's a cracking vehicle and totally authentic to the one
0:06:09 > 0:06:11'that transported me to hospital all those years ago.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14'But it's not just the ambulance that's the real thing -
0:06:14 > 0:06:17'John the driver is, as well.'
0:06:17 > 0:06:20So, you actually drove this type of ambulance yourself
0:06:20 > 0:06:23- in the 1960s?- Yes.- Really?
0:06:23 > 0:06:26In that uniform?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29It has changed a little bit, but, yes, basically, this uniform.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32I tell you what, I might be pushing my luck a bit here,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- but any chance that we can take this out for a spin?- Why not?
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Excellent.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39- What do you get to the gallon? - About ten miles to the gallon.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Ten miles to the gallon.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43My goodness me.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54The initial 1946 NHS Act required local authorities
0:06:54 > 0:06:58to provide ambulances rather than central government.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Run by volunteers, the early ambulances' only purpose
0:07:01 > 0:07:04was transport, with no provision for medical treatment.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Emergency first aid was often provided at the scene
0:07:07 > 0:07:10by doctors following close behind.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13- REPORTER:- 'This doctor set off hot on the heels of an ambulance
0:07:13 > 0:07:17'to a typical emergency call to an outlying farm.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21'And this is as far as the ambulance can get.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24'But these fellows, skilful and careful as they are,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28'will lose no time, for they, too, cover tremendous distances.'
0:07:28 > 0:07:32'This changed in 1964, two years after my trip to hospital,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35'when the Miller Report recommended the Ambulance Service
0:07:35 > 0:07:37'should also provide emergency treatment.'
0:07:37 > 0:07:38Anybody see this happen?
0:07:38 > 0:07:44'In 1974, ambulances and staff came under central NHS control,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46'and by the '90s, staff with extended training
0:07:46 > 0:07:49're-qualified as paramedics.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53'The design of vehicles has also changed a lot, but in the '60s,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56'the Bedford J1 reigned supreme.'
0:07:56 > 0:07:58SIREN
0:08:01 > 0:08:04'This particular model is from 1967,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06'and it is still in perfect working order.'
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Bet Jenson Button hasn't got a gear stick like that.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11I bet he hasn't.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Looks like I'm on direction duty.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Right turn, right turn.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28There we go.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29Oh!
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Wow.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35- It doesn't have safety belt, this one, does it?- No.- No.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36Wow.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40'It's certainly not the smoothest of rides.'
0:08:47 > 0:08:50It's not as though you could ever put the radio on in here
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and listen to anything gentle.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- We had to listen to that, though. - Oh, this is your...?
0:08:55 > 0:08:58That was one of the original radios.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02- Z-Victor 1 to Z-Victor 2. - Oh, you watched Z-Cars!
0:09:02 > 0:09:05We've got some villains going down the East Lancashire roads.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08- Intercept.- Must be Yorkshiremen!
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Bandits. Bandits from Barnsley.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16What's the top speed?
0:09:16 > 0:09:20I mean, don't do it, but tell me, what is the top speed?
0:09:20 > 0:09:26- The top speed when they were new, we could get 70 no problem.- Wow.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28They wobble a bit on the front.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Then they vibrate in the back.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34- Yes.- You get somebody who is really poorly-poorly,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38you know, broken bones and things, they don't want it vibrating.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42'I'm glad I went up front today.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Last time I was actually in an ambulance like this,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49obviously I was lying in the back, so I don't remember the journey,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53but the journey that we are doing now
0:09:53 > 0:09:56is following exactly the same route.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59But as we get around this corner,
0:09:59 > 0:10:06we will be approaching where Marsden Hospital used to be.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08This is the entrance on our left now.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14And they now call this area Marsden Heights.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16What is going on there, what is that, I wonder?
0:10:16 > 0:10:20- Is that the old Marsden Hospital sign?- Yeah, it looks like....
0:10:20 > 0:10:24We could go here, say we are looking for Marsden Hospital.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27We've been driving around since 1967.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28HE LAUGHS
0:10:31 > 0:10:36Marsden Hospital began as a workhouse infirmary back in 1899.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It was taken over by the NHS in 1948
0:10:39 > 0:10:42and was closed in 1992.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45The land was sold to developers, and all that's left now
0:10:45 > 0:10:49is what I can only guess is one of the old window frames.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52The main hospital in Burnley today is Burnley General
0:10:52 > 0:10:54and it's where we are heading now.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Slowly, and bumpily, and, if I'm honest, slightly scarily.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02'The main A&E for the area is now in Blackburn,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05'but there's an emergency care unit here
0:11:05 > 0:11:08'and, luckily, parked outside is a modern ambulance.'
0:11:10 > 0:11:13'Time to compare the beasts - with a paramedic of today,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16'Sandra Hartley, and my driver, John Howard Judson.'
0:11:19 > 0:11:24- Hello.- Hello! - That's quite an impressive machine.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Can we do a deal?
0:11:25 > 0:11:29If you allow us to have a look around yours,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31you can have a look around... dare I say, ours.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33- Yes, that's fine.- OK.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Thank you.
0:11:45 > 0:11:46- Wow.- There you go.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49State of the art, yes.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It is an expensive piece of kit.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55- It is like a little mobile hospital, to be fair.- I can imagine.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57- Yeah.- What does that cost?
0:11:57 > 0:12:01- A fortune.- A fortune? - Yes.- OK, all right.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04I can appreciate that. But it's all there, isn't it? You've got...
0:12:04 > 0:12:06We've got the stretcher
0:12:06 > 0:12:10and we've also got carry chairs and a wheelchair.
0:12:10 > 0:12:11A defibrillator there,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14so, obviously, somebody who's having a heart attack or whatever,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17we can revive them, bring them back to life, hopefully.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Anything you want, bandages and splints and all sorts.
0:12:20 > 0:12:27- Well, having seen today, would you like to go back in time?- Yes.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Oh, my word.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33There's nothing in it!
0:12:33 > 0:12:35DOOR CRASHES
0:12:35 > 0:12:38'That'll take a few quid off the value.'
0:12:38 > 0:12:40There's nothing there!
0:12:40 > 0:12:42There is, honestly.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44What's in the box under there?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- That's our resuscitator. - Your resuscitator?
0:12:46 > 0:12:50- Yes.- Ah. Have you got any drugs and things?
0:12:50 > 0:12:55- No drugs? No?- No. We were allowed Entonox.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57What's in there?
0:12:57 > 0:13:02- It's splints.- What? Some splints?- Yeah.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04If you've got your broken leg...
0:13:05 > 0:13:07..that's where it goes.
0:13:07 > 0:13:08No!
0:13:08 > 0:13:11And eight bandages fasten it.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15'Now, time to do my Antiques Roadshow bit.'
0:13:15 > 0:13:20You know, I fully recognise that the modern ambulance today
0:13:20 > 0:13:22is state-of-the-art,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24but when I look back at a vehicle like this,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and I look at the contours on it,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29it's almost a piece of sculpture,
0:13:29 > 0:13:34insofar as it's got more aesthetic appeal to me.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37And, of course, I'm always being accused of
0:13:37 > 0:13:40having my head in the past, it's what I do for a living,
0:13:40 > 0:13:47but in this case, I'm very grateful to this machine because without it,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50I might never have had a past.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55'After arriving in the ambulance, I would go on to spend
0:13:55 > 0:13:58'six weeks in hospital, being pricked and prodded
0:13:58 > 0:14:02'like an old vase, while they tried to work out what was wrong with me.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05'If I'm honest, hospitals back in the early '60s
0:14:05 > 0:14:08'weren't the best of places for kids.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11'Some hospitals did lay on special events but there was definitely
0:14:11 > 0:14:14'nothing as exciting as this going on at the Marsden.'
0:14:17 > 0:14:21All I remember is nurses in scary starch uniforms,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25stern-looking matrons and uncomfortable beds.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31This is the bed of today.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36It differs significantly from the bed I remember.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39This bed, I'm reliably informed,
0:14:39 > 0:14:44will set you back between £3,000 and £5,000 for a bed.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Now, all I remember about my bed is it was painted metal,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52er, it was relatively high.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I was in an isolation ward, and one big memory of hospital
0:14:55 > 0:14:57is being lonely and bored.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01But despite suffering from something that would take weeks to diagnose,
0:15:01 > 0:15:02I don't remember being scared.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05There was a certain advantage I found of being in hospital,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09there was a definite perk, because people brought you toys.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13And I was deluged with some seriously good toys.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I mean, for example, I've still got them today.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Yes, I've kept them.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20This is Chipperfield Circus.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23I mean, you know, that's the sort of thing you would look at
0:15:23 > 0:15:28in a toy-shop window and dream about owning.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31I've just noticed there's an occupant.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Here he is!
0:15:33 > 0:15:36That poor chap's been trapped in there for 50 years.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40I hid these, I slept with them under my bedclothes.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44In fact, it was quite a narrow bed.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48There wasn't much room for me to fit in that bed.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Who knows? Maybe it was while I was in hospital playing with my toys
0:15:51 > 0:15:54that I became a budding antique dealer.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58But when I wasn't playing Circus, chances are I was being tested
0:15:58 > 0:16:01as they tried to work out why I had a constant fever
0:16:01 > 0:16:03and was losing so much weight.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09When I left hospital, I weighed just three stone.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13But there was good news.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17What they thought might be leukaemia turned out to be glandular fever.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21How they could mix up the two illnesses
0:16:21 > 0:16:24has always remained something of a medical mystery to me.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27So, I've come to the Royal Blackburn Hospital
0:16:27 > 0:16:30to visit the main blood-testing laboratory for the area.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37'I'm meeting consultant haematologist Dr Margaret Rokicka
0:16:37 > 0:16:40'to find out more about the science behind misdiagnosis
0:16:40 > 0:16:43'and whether such a worrying mistake could happen today.'
0:16:45 > 0:16:50So, why should it be, back in 1962, that glandular fever
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and something as serious as leukaemia
0:16:53 > 0:16:54would be mistaken for the other?
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Yeah, because they are very similar symptoms.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00You are very ill, you have temperature,
0:17:00 > 0:17:06you have enlarged glands and you have usually very sore throat.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Now, we can test whether actually glandular fever,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14which is viral disease.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- It takes five minutes. - Five minutes?
0:17:16 > 0:17:20- Five minutes. - I was in there for weeks!- Yes.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24'It's blowing my mind that today a simple five-minute test
0:17:24 > 0:17:27'could've saved weeks of my parents' worrying.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31'Just five minutes to diagnose a virus and rule out leukaemia.'
0:17:31 > 0:17:35When you are ill, an infection you have,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39you will produce, your body will react with antibodies.
0:17:39 > 0:17:46So, this measures your body's reaction to the virus.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Back in the '60s, most blood testing was carried out manually.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Blood samples would be examined under a microscope
0:17:52 > 0:17:55by experienced haematologists.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57With the electron microscope,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59we can take pictures of most viruses.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03It was a laborious process but, by the end of the '60s,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05six years after my stay in hospital,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08the white heat of technological progress
0:18:08 > 0:18:10was poised to come to the rescue.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12- REPORTER: - 'This is a machine that could
0:18:12 > 0:18:14'make a great deal of difference to the nine out of ten people
0:18:14 > 0:18:17'who go for their treatment to a family doctor.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21'It finds out if anything's wrong with you by analysing your blood.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23'It's still being tested,
0:18:23 > 0:18:25'but it looks like being able to do in one hour
0:18:25 > 0:18:28'what a team of a dozen laboratory workers take a week to do.'
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Labs have come a long way since the '60s.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Today, automation and fancy machines mean the team at Blackburn
0:18:36 > 0:18:41look at an average of 5,000 samples a day.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Some of the machines here can carry out a complete analysis
0:18:44 > 0:18:48of a blood sample, from aspiration to result, in just one minute.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Some work with microscopes is, of course, still necessary,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56so, while the glandular fever test continues to count down,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Dr Rokicka is going through how my mix-up could have happened
0:18:59 > 0:19:02by showing me microscopic images of blood cells.
0:19:02 > 0:19:08These cells on the left is typical for glandular fever.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10OK.
0:19:10 > 0:19:16But there can be other nasty cells, which we will see now.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21You can compare these glandular fever cells
0:19:21 > 0:19:26with actually deadly acute leukaemia cells.
0:19:26 > 0:19:33So, that was the way that diagnosis was made back in the '60s.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36We only relied on the appearance of cells.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Since my time in hospital, it's obvious diagnosis has become
0:19:40 > 0:19:43so much faster and more reliable.
0:19:43 > 0:19:44Talking of speed, the five minutes
0:19:44 > 0:19:48for our glandular-fever test is nearly up.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52- BEEPING - OK.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Here we are. We have a result,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59and you can clearly see that there are two bars here,
0:19:59 > 0:20:03which means that this is positive test
0:20:03 > 0:20:08which means that the body and blood was infected by the virus.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17Today has offered me almost a sense of closure on this issue,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20because it was always in the back of the mind that maybe,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23if things had gone the wrong way, I wouldn't be here today.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27I was lucky, of course.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32Back in 1962, if I HAD been diagnosed with childhood leukaemia,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35it would have almost certainly have been a death sentence.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37And yet, over the decades,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40there's been a revolution not just in diagnosis,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43but treatment, and even cure rates, too.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Not that it's an easy thing, by any means.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50The treatment can still be long and painful.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54And no-one knows this better than Jennifer Miller.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57She was diagnosed last year, and she's been fighting ever since.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Initially, I was kept in for six weeks.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05- Six weeks?- Six weeks I was in isolation, yeah, I was in a room
0:21:05 > 0:21:06and I wasn't allowed to leave.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- No?- It makes you really, really poorly.- Yeah.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14And I just didn't eat. Sleep, that's all I wanted to do.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17It's obviously something very difficult to come to terms with,
0:21:17 > 0:21:22but how did you manage to deal with this mentally?
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Not very well, really. It's hard to deal with.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28When I was in hospital, I kind of plodded through
0:21:28 > 0:21:30because I was in a hospital
0:21:30 > 0:21:34and people were the same, but now, it's so hard.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36It is so hard.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Like, people look at me and think, "You look good,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41"you should be good," but...
0:21:41 > 0:21:43I'm not.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46- Not inside my head, I'm not. - You're not?- No.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49And what other type of support have you been given?
0:21:49 > 0:21:53On the unit we have a social worker and we are also given a named nurse.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57The team, the nurses up there are just so...so good.
0:21:57 > 0:22:04And they're able to talk to you and help you because they understand it.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08So, there's music workshops that you can go to, and art workshops.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I personally like the music because I can go and that helps me
0:22:11 > 0:22:14to forget, it helps.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16You have your good days and your bad days
0:22:16 > 0:22:21and you've just got to try and make the good days more than bad days.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25- But, eventually, time will get me back to where I was.- Excellent.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28On that note, I'd just like to wish you
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- lots and lots and lots and lots of good days.- Thank you.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35It was good to talk to Jen today, who can now look forward
0:22:35 > 0:22:37to a brighter future.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42When I was her age, my future was the bright lights of London.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48My first job on the way to fulfilling my dream of working
0:22:48 > 0:22:52with antiques was as a porter at Bonhams Auction House.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55It was tough old work but it taught me
0:22:55 > 0:22:57that if you want to see how a place really works,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00then you need to talk to those on the ground,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04and I'm reliably informed it's pretty much the same in hospitals.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07So, that's what I'm going to do today back at Burnley General.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- Good morning, gentlemen. - Morning, you must be Eric.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13'It's quarter to seven in the morning
0:23:13 > 0:23:14'and I've arrived bright and early
0:23:14 > 0:23:18'to spend a shift with hospital porters Andy McHale and Steve Shaw.'
0:23:18 > 0:23:21I'm here to learn, and the curve, I'm sure, is going to go like that.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24- Brilliant.- Yeah, very good. - So, what next?- First things first,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28- the uniform.- Uniform? - Yes.- All right.
0:23:31 > 0:23:32So, what do you think, chaps?
0:23:32 > 0:23:35- Very nice.- Very smart, very smart.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Do you think I've got credibility now?
0:23:38 > 0:23:40- You have, you have indeed. - Excellent, excellent.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43- So, what we're doing is we're taking these to the wards.- OK.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46'First job of the day, before my breakfast,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48'is the patients' breakfasts.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51'A lot of hungry people and not much time.'
0:23:51 > 0:23:56So, how many of these trolleys do you do in the morning?
0:23:56 > 0:24:01Just on the breakfast itself, probably 16, 17.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Morning, you all right?
0:24:03 > 0:24:05'I'm already flagging after less than an hour.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09'Steve and Andy have been here for 45 years between them.'
0:24:09 > 0:24:12So, Andy, have you ever worked out
0:24:12 > 0:24:14how many miles a day you walk around this hospital?
0:24:14 > 0:24:17- About 12 mile, we average. - 12 miles?
0:24:17 > 0:24:21On a five-day week, er, 60 miles a week.
0:24:21 > 0:24:28400 a year plus the other two months, that's 2,088.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34- LIFT:- 'Call in progress.'
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Oh, call in progress, OK.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41There are 43 porters at Burnley General
0:24:41 > 0:24:43and, as I suspected,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46they are as important here as they were at Bonhams.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48But the cargo these guys have to shift
0:24:48 > 0:24:51is a little bit different from what I'm used to.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57- Limbs.- Limbs? - Yes, legs and arms and...
0:24:57 > 0:24:59- They'll go in here? - In one of these, yeah.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03'It's been a long morning of fetching and carrying
0:25:03 > 0:25:06'but I've worked hard enough to earn Andy and Steve's trust
0:25:06 > 0:25:08'to collect a patient.'
0:25:08 > 0:25:10LAUGHTER
0:25:10 > 0:25:12- This is silly. - Please don't run over the cameraman.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15No, that's all right, this is seriously...
0:25:15 > 0:25:17- I think it's just a knack, isn't it? - It is.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19- It's not as easy as it looks. - No, it's not.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23THEY LAUGH
0:25:24 > 0:25:25I've told you, behave!
0:25:25 > 0:25:28- OK.- You all right with the chair, yeah?
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Yeah, I'm getting more of the hang of it.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- There we go.- Paul? - Yeah, you all right?
0:25:34 > 0:25:36I'm going to take you to ward six.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Paul, I need to ask you a question, are you fully insured?
0:25:39 > 0:25:41- Yes, absolutely.- Because you're going to need it with me.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- Fully comp.- I'm a novice. I'm a novice on this one.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Well, I'm not going to get any prizes for guessing
0:25:47 > 0:25:50what your problem has been.
0:25:50 > 0:25:58- But do you want to elaborate? - Yeah, I came in yesterday tea-time
0:25:58 > 0:26:01with a really bad eye infection
0:26:01 > 0:26:04and it was that bad that they wheeled me straight down
0:26:04 > 0:26:07to the operating theatre and drained all the fluid off my eye.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Oh, my goodness.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- So, you've been in overnight, Paul, have you?- I have, yeah.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14I might be here tonight, as well.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Where are you going, Eric?
0:26:17 > 0:26:19I can do it, I can do that, I can do that.
0:26:19 > 0:26:20Turn round and go in backwards.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- Turn.- OK, that's it. - Don't worry, Paul.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25We're all scared, don't worry. Here we go.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27OK, yes.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Porters have been part of the NHS since its inception -
0:26:38 > 0:26:41the unsung heroes who, over the years,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43have struggled for fair recognition.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- REPORTER: - 'In a normal 40-hour week,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48'Fred Wadsworth earns £21.56 gross.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52'With overtime, he can earn £29.25.'
0:26:52 > 0:26:55The satisfaction is that you're doing something for somebody.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59At the same time, they appreciate it being done for them.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02'It was hard work then, and this morning's taught me
0:27:02 > 0:27:04'that it's hard work now.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06'I'm wondering what Steve gets out of it today.'
0:27:08 > 0:27:10- Do you enjoy your job? - I do, I do, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13I enjoy meeting the patients because they've got such funny stories.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Oh, especially the older ones,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19because they tell you their age before you meet them.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22- And you're a good listener? - Oh, yes, definitely.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25Yes, yes. Some of them are local and some of them are not, you see,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27so you ask them where they come from and what they used to do
0:27:27 > 0:27:30when they worked, when they used to work, or if they're retired.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And that's when they tell you their age.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35They say, "I've been retired 30 years." "Never!"
0:27:35 > 0:27:38But, yes, still enjoy it.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41The downside is...bodies.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- Oh, right. The inanimate. - Yes.- The departed.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46- Yes, the dear departed, yes.- OK.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49You're right, that must be hard.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52- It's a bit of a tough call, isn't it?- Well, it is, yeah, yeah.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56But you've got to try and get over it, but I still remember them.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01I have to admit, it's been something of a demanding day
0:28:01 > 0:28:05insofar as I have walked quite a few miles
0:28:05 > 0:28:07down never-ending corridors.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11and it's slightly different to being a porter at Bonhams Auction House,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13I'll tell you that.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18But in another way, today I've been a very, very small cog
0:28:18 > 0:28:22in an incredible machine and it's interesting to think
0:28:22 > 0:28:25that I've made the tiniest of contributions
0:28:25 > 0:28:30to an amazing organisation that is the NHS.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Coming from the North West means a lot to me
0:28:34 > 0:28:38but it turns out I have a very specific NHS-related reason
0:28:38 > 0:28:40to be proud of this area.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42Just down the road in Manchester
0:28:42 > 0:28:46is the first hospital where Health Minister Aneurin Bevan
0:28:46 > 0:28:49officially launched the brand-new Health Service,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52and that's where I'm off to now.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57For many people, the launch of the NHS couldn't come soon enough.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02The winter of 1947 was one of the coldest on record.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06The UK was covered in snow and the Thames froze over,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09and for people living in poor housing who couldn't afford heating,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12infectious diseases were a real killer.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16In this context, the NHS was seen as a bright new dawn.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19- ADVERT:- 'It's all yours, whenever you want it,
0:29:19 > 0:29:21'with your own choice of doctor.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24'And that goes for the whole family.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27'The scheme is comprehensive.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29'It's not only to help you when you're ill
0:29:29 > 0:29:31'but to help to keep you well.'
0:29:32 > 0:29:34This is Trafford General today,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37but back in 1948, it was the hospital
0:29:37 > 0:29:40chosen for the PR launch of the NHS.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Bevan was treated like royalty
0:29:43 > 0:29:48and was met here by a parade of NHS staff standing stiffly to attention.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53I've downloaded some photos from the day
0:29:53 > 0:29:55and, being a complete history nerd,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58I'm determined to try and find the very spot
0:29:58 > 0:29:59where it all started.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05I have to say, though, it's proving to be harder than I thought.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11These are the right buildings, it's just that
0:30:11 > 0:30:13the photograph's taken from a slightly different perspective.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15But does it matter?
0:30:15 > 0:30:18No, not really, because I know that I'm within spitting distance
0:30:18 > 0:30:21of where this photograph was taken
0:30:21 > 0:30:24on such a historic occasion in 1948.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27And you might think me a bit weird,
0:30:27 > 0:30:29but that gives me something of a buzz.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Inside the hospital, there's more evidence
0:30:33 > 0:30:35of this illustrious day,
0:30:35 > 0:30:37including a photo of a 13-year-old girl
0:30:37 > 0:30:41that became known as the first-ever patient of the NHS.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Come and look at this. This is Sylvia Beckingham,
0:30:45 > 0:30:51the first NHS patient, and 13 years of age in 1948
0:30:51 > 0:30:56and, what's more, she returns.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59By then she had become, it says here, Sylvia Diggory,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02and she unveils a plaque 40 years later.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05What's more, she actually gave an interview
0:31:05 > 0:31:07and I've got that interview here.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10There's the girl, here's the interview.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13He was charming, absolutely charming.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16He had a very nice, lilting voice.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19He spoke to me, you know, not as a child,
0:31:19 > 0:31:21there was no speaking down.
0:31:21 > 0:31:27He was pleasant to everyone, and he was absolutely euphoric.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29He was a very happy man.
0:31:29 > 0:31:35It's even more remarkable to think that that lady was actually present
0:31:35 > 0:31:37in this hospital on that day.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40It was a day history was made.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44It all seems like quite a rosy picture,
0:31:44 > 0:31:46but I've been around long enough
0:31:46 > 0:31:49to know there's probably another side to this story.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51So, to find out what really happened,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54I'm meeting up with social historian Nick Hayes.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01For me, it's quite exciting to be in the very hospital
0:32:01 > 0:32:04in which the NHS was launched all those years ago.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06Yeah, I can understand that.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09It was a big day in some ways.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12But, at the same time, it's actually quite a low-key launch.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16- No brass bands? No dancing in the street?- No, no brass bands.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18Lots of photographs in the press afterwards,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21but the coverage is not as extensive as you would think.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26The truth is that the NHS had quite a painful birth.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29For years, there had been plans and drafts and proposals,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32but nothing had really been done about it.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35It wasn't until the war that things changed.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38We've been doing some hard thinking lately
0:32:38 > 0:32:41and we haven't got to stop when this job's finished.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44No more dirty, filthy backstreets
0:32:44 > 0:32:48and no more half-starved kids with no room to play in.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50We've got to pack all them up
0:32:50 > 0:32:53and get moving out into the brightness of the sun.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57And yet, while the people may have wanted it,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59the doctors were quite another matter.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01They weren't sure about the NHS at all.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08They had been independent as a profession for, well, decades, centuries.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10So, what they don't want is to be
0:33:10 > 0:33:14turned into salaried employees of the state.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17They want to retain their professional independence
0:33:17 > 0:33:19in trying to decide the terms under which doctors
0:33:19 > 0:33:23are going to be employed. It becomes bitter.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25It becomes very public.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28These discussions aren't played out in darkened rooms,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31they're played out over the airwaves.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37Britain's doctors, hospitals and health centres
0:33:37 > 0:33:38come under state control
0:33:38 > 0:33:42in the £152-million-a-year National Health Service Bill,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44soon to come on the statute book.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Critics of a new charter for professional people and patients
0:33:47 > 0:33:50centre on Harley Street, home of British medicine.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Your doctor must be your friend and servant.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Your freedom means our freedom.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Eventually, a compromise was reached
0:33:59 > 0:34:02where the doctors maintained independence
0:34:02 > 0:34:04in return for their cooperation.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07The triumph for Bevan is that he actually gets
0:34:07 > 0:34:11a nationalised health system but, of course, this is played out
0:34:11 > 0:34:14in history in terms of mythologies.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18Everybody likes heroes, and Bevan - particularly for the Labour Party -
0:34:18 > 0:34:19becomes one of those heroes.
0:34:21 > 0:34:26- BEVAN:- 'The Health Service started in an atmosphere of friction,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30'of controversy, of doubt and of great hopes.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35'There has gone on, in the past, a vast amount of silent suffering,
0:34:35 > 0:34:38'a vast amount of remediable pain.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42'And I believe, in Great Britain, we have made a great start.'
0:34:42 > 0:34:46It's humbling to think that, just a few years later,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50I would be one of the beneficiaries of the compromise that was reached.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54But the passing decades have seen millions of people like me
0:34:54 > 0:34:55right up to the present day.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02I've come to the nearby Macmillan Wellbeing Centre
0:35:02 > 0:35:06to meet Stella, her husband Michael, Celia and Murray
0:35:06 > 0:35:09who each have been treated for cancer in the last few years.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14I want to find out that little bit more about how things began,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17how things progressed, and where we are today.
0:35:17 > 0:35:23So, Celia, tell me, in your case, how did it all start?
0:35:23 > 0:35:27I was diagnosed last July with breast cancer
0:35:27 > 0:35:30after finding a lump that just kind of came out of the blue.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32I was cross with myself because I thought,
0:35:32 > 0:35:34"Should I have found this sooner?"
0:35:34 > 0:35:39But then they just reassured me and said, "No, because, in essence,
0:35:39 > 0:35:45"you found it in time and you did something about it."
0:35:45 > 0:35:48It was early on this year, about March,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51they sent me here for a scan to this hospital
0:35:51 > 0:35:54and then it was like everything took off
0:35:54 > 0:35:59because it was immediately diagnosed as blood cancer.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Lymphoma.
0:36:01 > 0:36:08And it had gone so far, it would be incurable,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11but was told straightaway it was eminently treatable,
0:36:11 > 0:36:13so I had the horrible shock.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15That's just the bad side.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17The good side is the wonderful people I've met,
0:36:17 > 0:36:21the other patients and the nurses and doctors.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25And now, I feel better than I did before I got ill.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29Me husband had been complaining of a sore throat.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34What he hadn't told me was that he had been spitting out blood.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36That's where your problems have been happening?
0:36:36 > 0:36:38Yeah, yeah, throat cancer.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Which, traditionally, they were going to cut out
0:36:41 > 0:36:45- and then they did it with six weeks of radiotherapy.- Right.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49The thing was, when he was diagnosed, here at the hospital,
0:36:49 > 0:36:54the week after, I was told that I also had cancer.
0:36:54 > 0:37:00I had bowel cancer and it took a little bit of getting used to
0:37:00 > 0:37:04because it was just before Christmas, it was in December,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08and we both said, "What a wonderful Christmas present(!)"
0:37:08 > 0:37:10THEY CHUCKLE
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Most of the group I have been talking to were treated
0:37:14 > 0:37:16at the Christie in Manchester.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19It's one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Europe
0:37:19 > 0:37:23and has been at the forefront of care throughout the NHS's history.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26This is from a film made in 1969.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31- REPORTER:- 'There's no doubt that the reduction of other diseases
0:37:31 > 0:37:34'in civilised society has highlighted cancer as a problem.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38'And yet, apart from lung cancer amongst smokers,
0:37:38 > 0:37:41'any individual's chance of surviving cancer
0:37:41 > 0:37:45'at any particular age is better now than at any time in the past.'
0:37:45 > 0:37:49Throughout its history, the NHS has made a big contribution
0:37:49 > 0:37:51to the fight against cancer.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54It was British doctors who proved the link between smoking
0:37:54 > 0:37:58and lung cancer and, as treatments have been refined over the years,
0:37:58 > 0:38:01the NHS has tried to keep up with advances,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04although budgets are always an issue.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06But in my experience, the treatment the Health Service gives
0:38:06 > 0:38:08is only half the story.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11It's the people that deliver it that count.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15But, you know, the people who have been looking after you,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18you know, we're talking NHS...
0:38:18 > 0:38:20I mean, the NHS, for me,
0:38:20 > 0:38:24is populated by countless superheroes.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28I don't want to sound patronising, condescending.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31No, the nurses at Christie's, they are specialists
0:38:31 > 0:38:34and they're absolute angels, every one of them.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39Right through from those on the reception desk,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43doing the cleaning, right through to the consultant
0:38:43 > 0:38:48was that caring aspect and even though they see so many people,
0:38:48 > 0:38:53it feels as though you are that important one at that time
0:38:53 > 0:38:55and you're special at that time.
0:38:55 > 0:39:00The care has been beyond reproach. It's just...
0:39:00 > 0:39:04I have to try and compare it with what the sort of care would be
0:39:04 > 0:39:07if you were in a country where there wasn't national health.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11With national health, you know they're not going to waste anything,
0:39:11 > 0:39:15they're not going to make you think you need to have something done that doesn't,
0:39:15 > 0:39:20so think of the utter faith you have and it works out.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23So, it's obvious to me that all four of you,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26you're well on this journey.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28I just wanted to know,
0:39:28 > 0:39:31what advice and encouragement are you able to offer?
0:39:31 > 0:39:35No matter how bad your cancer is, or how, you know,
0:39:35 > 0:39:40you just carry on with life, you've just got to carry on.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44It's a gobsmacking, you-need-to-sit-down-type situation.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47Cos you never think it will happen to you.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50I think it's a very individual thing because everybody's cancer
0:39:50 > 0:39:53is different and everybody's diagnosis is different
0:39:53 > 0:39:55and depending on where you are on that journey
0:39:55 > 0:39:57can make a big difference to you.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Cancer isn't like it was when I was a child.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04You didn't hear of it very often, but when you did,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07it was next to a death sentence.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11Whereas now, I'm sure more people recover now.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17Talking to that brave group of people has made me think back again
0:40:17 > 0:40:19to my treatment all those years ago
0:40:19 > 0:40:22and my stay in Marsden Hospital in Burnley.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26It's been a fascinating few days finding out more about the NHS
0:40:26 > 0:40:29then and now and revisiting that time.
0:40:29 > 0:40:34This is the route I was taken on.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36Before I finish this journey,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39there is one person I would love to meet -
0:40:39 > 0:40:41the paediatric doctor who looked after me,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Dr Winston Turner.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48As a nine-year-old boy in the '60s, hospital was pretty lonely,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51but he made a real difference.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54It would be great to be able to say thank you.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58'Unfortunately, he's no longer alive but, a few years ago,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01'I did meet his daughter at an antique-glass event.'
0:41:01 > 0:41:04- Hello, lovely to see you. - Lovely to see you.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07'So, to finish off my personal odyssey,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10'I have arranged to call in for a quick coffee.'
0:41:10 > 0:41:14The image of your father has never left my mind.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17Unlike all the other doctors,
0:41:17 > 0:41:21I don't remember him actually wearing a long white coat.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23He hated white coats.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26I mean, there is one photo there -
0:41:26 > 0:41:30that is the only photo we've got of him in a white coat.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34He knew children would be scared enough in hospital
0:41:34 > 0:41:37and he didn't want to add to their stress.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39I mean, everybody loved him.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44Everybody knew him and it did make it difficult for me
0:41:44 > 0:41:47when I was trying to go into pubs when I was underage
0:41:47 > 0:41:49because people would know who I was
0:41:49 > 0:41:52and word would get back to Mummy and Daddy
0:41:52 > 0:41:53before I did.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55THEY CHUCKLE
0:41:55 > 0:41:57Which, you know, you didn't appreciate.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59I think, sometimes, he saw his patients more
0:41:59 > 0:42:01than he saw his children,
0:42:01 > 0:42:04but he involved us in his work often.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08I mean, at Christmas, we always used to go
0:42:08 > 0:42:12round the hospitals in the morning.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14We would open stockings here,
0:42:14 > 0:42:17Mummy would put the turkey in the oven,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21and then we would go out and take presents
0:42:21 > 0:42:27to all the wards and he would make sure that every child
0:42:27 > 0:42:30who was in hospital was all right over Christmas
0:42:30 > 0:42:33because he didn't like them being in hospital.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37If he could sort of let them home for Christmas, he would do.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39So, what year did your father actually qualify?
0:42:39 > 0:42:42He qualified in 1937.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47That's a good few years before the National Health Service
0:42:47 > 0:42:48was up and running.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50I mean, how did he react,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53somebody who was already in the system?
0:42:53 > 0:42:56He was passionate about the NHS.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59It had to be better - that people didn't have to count to see
0:42:59 > 0:43:04if they've got enough money to see the doctor or to go to hospital.
0:43:04 > 0:43:10I was thinking, I'd like to just give you a little bit of something,
0:43:10 > 0:43:15which is a personal memento from me to you.
0:43:15 > 0:43:21It's something which is very relevant
0:43:21 > 0:43:24to my arrival in hospital.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27I'll let you take it out of the bag.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Oh, thank you!
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Oh, it's wonderful.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34That is a very-near-looking model
0:43:34 > 0:43:38of the very same ambulance that took me in
0:43:38 > 0:43:42and, thankfully, brought me back from hospital.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47And much of that, I know for a fact, is all down to the efforts
0:43:47 > 0:43:53of your father and I will be forever grateful for everything that he did
0:43:53 > 0:43:56for me and my parents.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58Thank you so much.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01Thank you so much for sharing a little bit more of your dad with me.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04Well, thank you, it's been a pleasure to talk to you.
0:44:07 > 0:44:12Well, the last few days have been both interesting and fascinating.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15In my business, there's a lot to be said about knowing
0:44:15 > 0:44:18the price of everything and the value of nothing.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22But, as far as the NHS is concerned, one thing I have learned,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25and that is, when it comes to value,
0:44:25 > 0:44:30it really is a priceless organisation.