One woman’s bid to cure the NHS
PICK OF THE DAY
THE CURE Channel 4, 9pm
BASED on a real life story, this stand-alone film tells the story of an ordinary woman who exposed one of the worst hospital care scandals in the history of the NHS.
Sherlock’s Sian Brooke stars as Julie Bailey, and Sue Johnston as her mum Bella, who was admitted to Stafford Hospital in 2007 with a treatable hernia condition.
Eight weeks later Bella was dead, having endured appalling levels of care and neglect.
There are harrowing and heartbreaking scenes as we watch Bella’s sudden decline, from joyful and having a laugh with her family, to frail and incapacitated.
During Bella’s two months in hospital, she was dropped on the floor by a healthcare assistant and left without oxygen for a day.
Julie witnessed other patients who were left for hours in soiled sheets, without pain relief, desperately dehydrated and in filthy wards.
After her mum died, and having witnessed the routine suffering of patients, Julie launched the campaign Cure the NHS.
Determined that no other patient should endure the same as her mother, she brought together people who had had similar experiences.
Gradually the pressure of the campaign uncovered the full extent of what was happening at the hospital, resulting in a public inquiry which made 290 recommendations to ensure patient safety.
But the film also shows the personal sacrifice to Julie, who is hurled abuse at by angry protestors and spat at by hospital workers.
A moving, upsetting and emotional drama, but one that shows the difference one person can make.