The NHS: From the Cradle to the Gravy Train

How Britain’s postwar dreams were stolen… and how to win them back. This time: The NHS was the prize for all the pain and sacrifice of the Second World War. When did we accept that it would be a service in perpetual decline? Ros Taylor talks to experts from senior policy planners to Casualty scriptwriters to discover how the NHS became a huge entity in permanent crisis – why it holds such a grip on our collective imagination – and how to rescue it.

• “I have never seen NHS morale lower than it is now.” – Camilla Cavendish
• “It’s only when you really need the ΝΗS and experience it that you realise something terrible is going on within our society.” – Rachel Clarke
• “The NHS has pockets of world-class excellence and also, sadly, pockets of disaster and despair.” – Camilla Cavendish
• “We wouldn’t fund paediatrics from jumble sales or sponsored abseils… But that’s what we do with end of life care.” – Rachel Clarke

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Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Jade Bailey. Voiceovers by Imogen Robertson. Original music by Dubstar. Lead producer: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Jam Tomorrow is a Podmasters production.

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