Going beyond our component parts

In the first of our blog series for 2019, read more from one of our fantastic co- organisers, Anthony James, as he shares his story and passion for TEDxNHS…

Mr George McGrath is born in Glasgow in 1937. At the age of 10, he moves to Northern Ireland, where he later meets his wife Freda. They both train as nurses, George working in mental health, Freda in palliative care. They have 3 daughters, Sharon (who now works in a GP surgery), Lyn and Rhonda (who also becomes a nurse) and later 5 grandchildren – Anthony, Craig, Leanne, Cara and Sean. George’s career goes from strength to strength, they move around the UK and eventually, he finds himself as director of nurse education at Dundee University. The years go by, George retires and takes up diving alongside learning Spanish, enjoying the freedom of his later years.

Then everything changes, George develops a cough, his weight begins to drop and following a CT scan and other tests he is diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer most often associated with asbestos exposure. Incurable, George’s health deteriorates fast, the energetic, inquisitive, life-long learner reduced and weakened. As the end approaches, family gather at George’s home and later a hospice, the same hospice where Freda had worked as a nurse several years ago. George passes away peacefully on 15 June 2004 aged 67 surrounded by his loved ones. His funeral is a packed-out occasion, filled with friends and former colleagues from hospitals and the university.

Their stories helped him on his journey to wanting to become a doctor

A couple of years later George’s grandson, Anthony sits in front of a panel at a medical school interview. He tells the panel all about George and Freda and how their stories helped him on his journey to wanting to become a doctor. A few weeks later an offer letter arrives and several years later he graduates. Photographs arrive of Anthony in a gown and mortarboard and take pride of place next to similar shots of his Dad and George dressed in theirs. A few weeks later Anthony takes his first steps onto the ward as a junior doctor and he thinks of George.

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The NHS flows through all our lives: a place of work, a place to heal or a setting for many of life’s most joyous and most difficult moments. Uniting all of this are people, from patients, to nurses, to managers, people, who together create the unique system that is the NHS. Each of these people has a story, an experience to share or wisdom to impart, with their diversity of background, thought and ideas being one of healthcare’s greatest assets.

The NHS flow through all our lives

Recognising these stories and this diversity has always been at the forefront of our minds at TEDxNHS. We strive to showcase the stories of everyday frontline staff and patients, in the knowledge that anyone can have an extraordinary idea and anyone can become a storyteller on a national stage. By doing so we hope to engage and motivate the people who shape our NHS, to think big, be brave and act bold in the pursuit of the delivery of ever-improving standards of care.

This year’s theme, ‘Beyond Our Component Parts’ recognises the value of people and hopes to explore this through 3 topics. Open Hearts – a celebration of our workforce, culture and people. Divergent Thoughts – A platform for innovation, the spread of ideas and knowledge and Progressive Steps – A journey to embrace change and shape our health system for the better.

NHS has many faces and represents something different to each of us

The NHS has many faces and represents something different to each of us. To me, it is my friends, my family and my patients and is about much more than the simple provision of health services. Planning for this year’s TEDxNHS has made me reflect on my relationship with the NHS. I think back to all the people I have met through the NHS, everything I have learned and the hopes I have for its future. I also think about George, my grandad and what story he would have chosen to share on that stage.

Save the date: Friday 4 October at indigo at The O2 as we celebrate the people and the stories that make our NHS

Anthony James

TEDxNHS 2019 Co-Organiser