Between The Ears: The NHS Symphony

The patterns and flows of life in the NHS captured in immersive stereo, with specially commissioned music sung by NHS staff and The Bach Choir.

In the maternity unit at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, doctors listen to the heart rate of an unborn child. Across town at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, heart patients are monitored hour by hour. Downstairs in A&E, staff begin their shift not knowing what awaits them.

BBC Radio 3 marks the 70th anniversary of the NHS with a unique composition depicting two Birmingham hospitals as they care for patients from cradle to grave. In four movements, the rhythms of the health service are accompanied by a special choral work written by award winning composer Alex Woolf.

Part of a special season of programming on the BBC marking 70 years of the NHS

• Producer: Laurence Grissell

Publicity contact: SRB