| Overview |
Myleene Klass looks at the development of nursing in the NHS. She has a personal connection as her mother came to work as a nurse from the Philippines in the 70s. Myleene and her mum Magdalena travel to Northgate Hospital, where her mother started work 41 years ago. Magdalena gets emotional as the memories come flooding back.
Myleene then travels to Belfast to pull on some scrubs and get to work, helping nurses on ward 4a at the famous Royal Victoria Hospital. As she helps to serve the lunch, she talks to staff and patients, some of whom are from the Philippines as well. She learns about the hospital's Victorian origins, looking at old parts of the hospital that still exist. The hospital was the first in Europe to be built around an innovative steam-driven air-conditioning system, and Myleene travels down to the basement to see it in action.
By the time her mum came to work for the NHS, nursing and hospitals were changing rapidly, and Myleene travels to Londonderry to visit Altnagelvin hospital, the first completely new hospital to be built by the NHS. Opened in 1960, its multi-story design was revolutionary at the time. Myleene meets some nurses who were there the day it opened. They chat about getting to grips with the new technology and about a matron who used to walk the wards with her pet dog in tow. Back in Belfast, Myleene also looks at the Royal Victoria Hospital's recent history and the part it played in the troubles. She talks to nurses on the frontline, who tell her about the ethos of treating the bombers and the bombed, regardless of their politics. Finally, Myleene returns to Norfolk with her mum. They visit an old colleague and talk about the comradeship of nursing and Myleene finds out the secret of what happened to her mum's old uniform. |