<p>Aneurin Bevan established the National Health Service in 1948 on three core principles: that it meets the needs of everyone, that it be free at the point of delivery, and that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay. 72 years later it continues to carry out that promise, day in, day out. But how many more storms of austerity cuts can it endure?</p><br><p>Blaine meets paediatric doctor and Sunday Times best-selling author Dr Rachel Clarke, to hear how her sleepover protest outside the Department of Health ignited the Junior Doctor strikes in 2016. Rachel also shares her experiences of working in end-of-life care during the pandemic.</p><br><p>This week’s opening thought comes from Captain Sir Tom Moore, the centenarian who’s world-famous fundraising efforts during the UK Lockdown in April raised over 33 million pounds for NHS Charities together.</p><br><p>At the end of this episode, you will hear ‘Hospital Radio’ from Mystery Jets’ critically-acclaimed new album ‘A Billion Heartbeats’. You can buy and stream the album&nbsp;<a href="https://mysteryjets.lnk.to/ABillionHeartbeatsWE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><br><p>This episode of ‘Things Worth Fighting For’ was brought to you by Acast and produced by Matthew Twaites. Thanks to CourtneyAiesha Mortimer and Kate Jones at UROK for production assistance and coordination.&nbsp;</p><br><p><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/tomorrow-will-be-a-good-day/captain-tom-moore/9780241486108" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read ‘Tomorow Will Be a Good Day’ by Captain Sir Tom Moore (Waterstones)</a></p><br><p><a href="https://captaintom.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Donate to the Captain Tom Foundation to fight Loneliness&nbsp;</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU9-IrPgdz8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr Rachel Clarke TEDx Talk: Love and Loss at the end of Life (Youtube)</a></p><br><p><a href="https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Follow Dr Rachel Clarke on Twitter</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/what-did-jeremy-hunt-do-to-the-nhs-and-how-has-he-got-away-with-it/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jeremy Hunt and the Junior Doctor Strikes (opendemocracy.net)</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/30/this-man-knows-hes-dying-as-surely-as-i-do-a-doctors-dispatches-from-intensive-care" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr Rachel Clarke’s dispatches from the frontline during COVID (Guardian)</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.doctoroxford.com/books-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buy Rachel’s books ‘Dear Life’ and ‘Your Life in My Hands’ (from her website)</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReJjvlipXpM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Danny Boyle’s Tribute to the NHS at the London 2012 Olympics (Youtube)</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.sportsbanger.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shorts Banger.com</a></p><br><p><a href="https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/the-covid-letters/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Covid Letters: Sportsbanger at the Foundling Museum</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-52542923" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thank you NHS: Rainbows for Key workers in pictures (bbc.co.uk)</a></p><br><p><a href="https://mysteryjetsstore.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buy limited edition Mystery Jets merch and collectables on the Jetstore&nbsp;</a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48905991" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How the NHS inspired our song ‘Hospital Radio’ (bbc.co.uk)</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>