What to watch
NHS at 70 – Live BBC TWO, 8.00PM
Essential viewing for anyone concerned about the future of the NHS, this 90-minute live event from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham is a centrepiece of the BBC’S 70th anniversary season celebrating the founding of the National Health Service in 1948. But just how practical, or feasible, is the service’s founding aim of making healthcare available to all based on need rather than ability to pay, when demand outstrips resources in the 21st century? Will the Government’s recently announced extra £4billion a year be enough to plug the funding gap? Can the health service adapt to cope with the issues pose by an ageing population? And can the public be encouraged to reduce demand by taking active measures to improve health? These are among the question up for discussion by an audience of NHS professionals, patients (via live-link-ups) and a handful of celebrity guests.
Among the contributors will be Nick Robinson who, having undergone cancer treatment, has personal views on how good the NHS is, and who with co-host Anita Rani will prevent the findings of exclusive new research into the challenges facing the NHS in years to come. Gerard O’donovan