The Nation's Health (1983)
The Nation's Health is a 4 episode series written by G.F.Newman based on his book of the same name, originally broadcast on the fledgling Channel 4 UK TV channel in 1983. The series consists of four episodes that are, in order, titled: Acute, Decline, Chronic, and Collapse. In it we are faced with a maelstrom of political issues, illnesses, fatalities, personal greed and professional vanities. As may be clear from these titles, the series draws a relentlessly bleak view of the NHS in 1980s Britain. The protagonist of the series is a newly-qualified doctor, Jessie Marvill (Vivienne Ritchie). The series follows Jessie through four different sectors of the NHS, although the episodes are not focused entirely through Jessie: the NHS is seen from a variety of different perspectives, from doctors and patients to administrators and kitchen staff.
Seasons & Episode
Jessie finds herself the object of surprise when she applies for a surgical position at St Clair’s hospital
We are shown something of the relationship between private health care and the NHS, and between the NHS and pharmaceutical companies.
The third episode focuses on the closure of Nightingale block, which will save the health authority £560,000 (one-twentieth of the hospital’s expenditure) at the expense of 120 beds.
The fourth episode confronts the issue of the treatment of mentally ill patients and is perhaps the most overtly troubling.