NHS at 70

Updated Tuesday 26th June 2018

Hosted by Nick Robinson and Anita Rani, this 90 minute programme, live from a hospital, marks the 70th anniversary and asks the big questions about the NHS today and its future. Drawing on independent research from leading think tanks, the programme gives audiences a chance to contribute to the wider conversation around the NHS. The audience will be patients and NHS staff with remarkable stories, plus leading health experts and medical pioneers.

This programme will air on Tuesday 26th June at 8pm on BBC Two. Read more about it on the BBC's programme pages, or find out more about the NHS below.

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About the live TV show

Find out more about the 90 minute live broadcast from Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
What would you fund?

How would you decide on a range of funding dilemmas presented to the NHS everyday? Vote in our polls...

Live: Anita Rani and Nick Robinson present the centre piece of the BBC’s NHS at 70 season, a live broadcast from Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. They will celebrate 70 years of the NHS before asking the big questions about the NHS today and in its future, in front of an audience of patients and NHS professionals at the heart of the debate about Britain’s best loved institution. We all remember the Olympic ceremony celebrating and championing the NHS as the best health service in the world. But how good is it at keeping us alive, when compared to other countries? While arguments continue in Westminster over a birthday present boost to the NHS budget, how much money does it really need to keep Nye Bevan’s promise of free health care for all in the years to come? With an aging population taking up hospital beds, obesity costing more than all cancers combined and the numbers of children and young people self-harming up threefold in just four years, how does the NHS born in 1948 reinvent itself beyond its 70th birthday? For the first time the country’s leading health and economic think tanks, including The King’s Fund, the IFS, the Nuffield Trust and The Health Foundation have all joined forces to tackle the most important questions facing the NHS at 70. They have created a unique report that will inform the audience and spark debate. Anita Rani and Nick Robinson are joined by Helen Skelton who is live at the maternity ward of the Birmingham Women’s Hospital next door, while Dr Kevin Fong looks at how new technology could transform the NHS and Dr Zoe Williams investigates the obesity epidemic.

Should the NHS fund it?

The NHS and government has to decide whether to fund certain healthcare treatments or services. Would you fund the following ten big issues? Vote in our quiz...

Take part now ❯Should the NHS fund it?

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Difficult healthcare decisions: What will you choose?

Try our interactive quiz on some high-profile medical cases to see if you agree with the establishment or individual while learning more about medical ethics.

Take part now ❯Difficult healthcare decisions: What will you choose?

"Nursing is a fantastic career"

Staff Tutor for Nursing for The Open University, Michael Davidson, explains why he believes nursing can be a rewarding career choice for men and women.

Watch now ❯"Nursing is a fantastic career"

Learn with the OU

Take a look at the related qualifications and courses we offer at The Open University.
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Meet the OU expert

Meet Dr Gemma Ryan, the academic consultant on the series.

Qualifications

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BSc (Honours) Nursing Practice

If you’re a registered nurse, the BSc (Hons) Nursing Practice offers a practical way to take your career forward – enabling you to step up to an honours degree while continuing to earn. Its flexible, modular approach is designed to meet the needs of nurses working across a range of settings and specialities, in both the NHS and independent sectors. Study options focus on key areas for contemporary nursing – leadership; ageing and the life course; and public health. As you study, you’ll reflect critically on your own practice; cultivate a person-centred approach to work with service users, their carers and families, and explore how your learning can contribute to evidence-based practice improvement. By the end of your studies, you’ll have enhanced your professional expertise to meet the complex challenges of contemporary health care practice.

Learn more ❯BSc (Honours) Nursing Practice

Modules

Nursing Apprenticeships

Whether you’re looking to develop new or current employees, The Open University offers a range of Higher and Degree Apprenticeships in England and Graduate Apprenticeships in Scotland that are designed around employers' needs. Open University apprenticeships are delivered flexibly to fit around your organisation’s demands, scalable for consistent training across multiple sites and provide high quality work-based learning for real organisational impact. Check out our nursing and health care apprenticeships.

Free courses

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Caring in hospitals

This free course, Caring in hospitals, considers the type of care offered in hospitals, using Leeds General Hospital as a case study. The course looks at the people who have roles within the hospital, how they interact with each other and patients, and what they consider to be 'care'. The different approaches and contributions to care by doctors and nurses are explored and patients give their perspective on the care they receive.

Learn more ❯Caring in hospitals

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Obesity: Balanced diets and treatment

The incidence of obesity is on the increase in affluent societies, and the phenomenon commands increasing attention from health professionals, legislators and the media. This free course, Obesity: Balanced diets and treatment, looks at the science behind obesity, examining the dietary, physiological and genetic aspects of the topic.

Learn more ❯Obesity: Balanced diets and treatment

Gemma Ryan, Lecturer in Nursing

Gemma has a diverse background as a qualified teacher with QTLS/QTS and is also a registered adult nurse and nurse teacher.

Her experience includes secondary, further and higher education (maths, biology, health & social care), research management, private and NHS healthcare (community and acute setting). She holds a Doctor of Nursing, MSc Professional Education and PGCertHE obtained from DeMontfort University; BSc (Hons) Health & Social Care and PGCertAdvancing Healthcare Practice from the Open University. Gemma has extensive experience in online and distance education at a range of academic levels. Her professional doctoral study examined the concept of professionalism and social media.

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