The NHS: A People's History

This episode covers the first quarter century of the service and unveils a whole host of unique artefacts. We'll see the graduation certificate of a doctor who only qualified on the NHS's first day and yet was thrown straight into surgery…one of the last remaining roadworthy Invacars, a specialist vehicle adapted for disabled drivers that was handed out for free in the 60s…and even a tiny booklet listing a family's expenditure on doctor's fees, a stark reminder of life before the Health Service when every GP visit came with a charge.

Alex Brooker continues to chart the history of the National Health Service via the treasured mementos and personal stories of patients and staff whose lives it has affected since its inception in 1948. This second episode covers a period in which the NHS expands beyond all recognition, as it is forced to evolve and adapt to the needs of an ever growing, and ever more diverse population, all against a background of social strife and the increasing pressures to privatise.

This episode covers 1997 to the present day and unveils a whole host of unique, highly personal artefacts. These include the homemade badges dedicated to the first surgeons to carry out gender reassignment surgery after it became available on the NHS, a nurse's uniform cherished since it was used in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics and teddy bears lovingly made from the clothes of Ellen Linstead, one of the victims of the notorious Mid-Staffordshire abuse scandal in 2006.