Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes travels to Scotland to unravel her father's Jewish roots. Joseph Margolyes was born in 1899 and grew up in the Gorbals. Back then it was a severely deprived area, and Miriam believes it was these early experiences of poverty that drove him to train as a GP. Miriam goes to a surgery in the east end of Glasgow that is part of a group called The Deep End, which helps people in the most deprived areas. Glasgow has the lowest life expectancy in the UK, and poverty still plays a huge part in health problems. Miriam meets some of the patients who are profoundly grateful for the health care they have received.

Miriam also talks to a group of pensioners in another part of the city, who remember what life was like before the NHS. They look at old government information films from the time and discuss how it felt for patients when the new service was launched. Miriam also travels north of Glasgow to find out how primary health care is delivered in some of the most remote areas in the UK. She travels to Lochgilphead to visit a GP-run clinic that works remotely with city-based consultants. Although the centre only contains GPs, they are able to offer A&E and even transfusions and chemotherapy. Miriam meets a man whose life was saved by the clinic and talks to one of the GPs, Adrian Ward, who helped create this innovative practice. Miriam also goes to visit the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service, who can fit an emergency operating theatre into a couple of rucksacks and a helicopter. It is all a long way from her father's trusted black bag, but in the passion of the people she meets, Miriam also notes a lot of similarities.