NHS 75th Birthday

How did the NHS come into being? When was the first kidney transplant? Is half a chicken actually a cure for anything? Find out as comedian and former psychiatric nurse Jo Brand joins Rattus to host a special episode in honour of the NHS's 75th birthday. They discover how the NHS came to be, some of its weirder moments, and what life was like before we had the NHS to look after us. Did you know that before the NHS, getting medical help could be both difficult and expensive? We take a look at the role of the almoner, who decided who would have to pay for their treatment, and how much, before Nye Bevan comes along with his notion of free health care for all. 

We learn the story of the first NHS baby (and how she was encouraged to wait a few minutes before actually coming into the world), of how nurses were recruited in large numbers and how, with ventures such as the Common Cold Unit, the NHS tried to learn about how our health could be improved using some weird and wonderful methods. 

In 24 Hours in Historical A&E, we venture into a hospital where medics from across the ages are on call to treat the sick. Some of them are geniuses who were ahead of their time, such as tenth-century surgeon al-Zahrawi. There is also an 18th-century Italian surgeon who thinks the answer to all ills lies in blowing smoke up your bum with some bellows, a Tudor doctor armed with two halves of a chicken, and William Shakespeare, and a guy who thinks aggressively licking your palm is the key to diagnosing what ails you. 

Elsewhere, we stop off for an icky look at treating the plague, before moving to more recent times and the push to vaccinate people against diseases like TB. Finally, we say thanks to our NHS with Nye Bevan and a classic Horrible Histories banger of a tune.