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National Health StoriesEpisodes

  1. Omnibus 4

    The series which traces decisive moments in the history of the NHS.

  2. Omnibus 3

    The series that traces decisive moments in the history of the NHS.

  3. Omnibus 2

    The series which traces decisive moments in the history of the NHS.

  4. Omnibus 1

    The series which traces decisive moments in the history of the NHS.

  5. Never Enough

    The NHS has never had enough money. How have health ministers dealt with it?

  6. Nurse!

    From cleaning bedpans to treating broken bones: how nursing in the NHS has changed.

  7. Too Much Medicine

    Breast screening highlighted the issue of over-diagnosis and over-treatment in the NHS.

  8. Policing the Bugs

    When MRSA and other hospital bugs hit the headlines, the NHS had to clean up its act.

  9. The New Plague

    How the NHS responded to a new fatal disease, Aids, in the 1980s.

  10. Protest

    A baby died, wards were closed and nurses went on strike. An NHS crisis in the 1980s.

  11. Unequal

    How the Black Report in 1980 and others exposed inequalities in health in deprived areas.

  12. Cradle

    How the NHS responded to the birth of the first test tube baby in 1978.

  13. Grave

    How Cecily Saunders' 'modern hospice' movement forced the NHS to plan for a 'good death'.

  14. Scandal

    How unsung heroine Barbara Robb exposed glaring gaps in the care of the mentally ill.

  15. Sexual Health Service

    How the contraceptive pill forced the NHS to acknowledge women sexual health needs.

  16. Modern Hospital

    How the new 'modern' hospital designs changed the relationships of staff and patients.

  17. Kidney Dilemma

    How the life-saving 'artificial kidney' machine brought moral dilemmas in its wake.

  18. Hip Innovation

    How life in the new NHS gave some hospital doctors the time and freedom to innovate.

  19. Cigarettes & Chimneys

    How lung cancer forced the new NHS to ask: should it just treat disease or prevent it too?

  20. Free Specs & Teeth

    The highs and lows that followed the launch of the National Health Service on 5 July 1948.

  21. Doctors Revolt

    How Aneurin Bevan convinced his harshest critics, the doctors, to sign up to his NHS.

  22. Remedies of War

    How the Second World War helped to shape the National Health Service.

  23. Pioneers

    How some enterprising individuals addressed the health problems in their own communities.

  24. Poor Treatment

    How the nation coped before the NHS, with basic treatments and kitchen table surgery.

  25. Welcome to National Health Stories

    Welcome to this new BBC podcast. The first episode will be available within seven days.