Nursing times on film – the Royal United Hospital's 70-year story

Patients, staff and families are the stars of a new video produced by the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust to mark the 70th birthday of the NHS.

The short film goes behind the scenes at the hospital, recognising the past, celebrating the present and looking forward to the future.

The footage honours the diverse variety of job roles and skills that make the RUH what it is today, featuring chefs, nurses, pharmacists, receptionists, healthcare scientists, radiographers, porters, play specialists, surgeons, healthcare assistants, consultants, cytologists, biomedical scientists and many more. It highlights the front-line care and compassion delivered to patients, and also those who work behind the scenes to make this possible.

The short film also looks to the past, contrasting with a time before healthcare became free to all at the time of need. Margaret Argent was one of two babies born at the RUH on the very first day of the NHS, and she shares how the launch of our National Health Service immediately impacted on her family.

She said: "My parents had paid money to go into hospital for the delivery. I was due at the end of June but I was quite late so my parents got their money back. They were able to buy a washing machine with a wringer which was really useful at the time. My mum used to joke that because I waited until the 5th July and she got her money back I was very considerate before I was even born."

Celebrating seven decades of the NHS also provides a platform to look to the future. Director of Research and Innovation Tim Craft, who heralds the success of collaborative research projects, said: "One of the things that defines the RUH from my perspective is how much everybody that works here cares. They care about the patients that they're looking after and they care a great deal about each other, and that to my mind produces a hospital with a certain culture, a certain tone. This is a fantastic hospital because of the people that work here."

You can watch the film here.

ENDS

Notes to Editor

• The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust provides acute treatment and care for a catchment population of around 500,000 people in Bath, and the surrounding towns and villages in North East Somerset and Western Wiltshire. The hospital provides healthcare to the population served by four Clinical Commissioning Groups: Bath & North East Somerset CCG, Wiltshire CCG, Somerset CCG and South Gloucestershire CCG.
• The Trust has 759 beds and a comprehensive range of acute services including medicine and surgery, services for women and children, accident and emergency services, and diagnostic and clinical support services.
• In 2015 The Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was acquired the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD) NHS Foundation Trust. The RNHRD treats patients from across the country offering services in rheumatology, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, cancer related fatigue and fatigue linked to other long term conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
• The RUH is changing - we have an exciting programme of redevelopment underway transforming our site and further improving the services we provide. The Trust is now working towards building a purpose built RNHRD and Therapies Centre and a new Dyson Cancer Centre. For more details visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk/fit4future
• For more information about the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk

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