Ambulance on an emergency call with its blue lights flashing.

The Magnificence of our National Health Service

Parent & Teacher Guidance
The Magnificence of our National Health Service

The NHS was established on 5 July 1948. The Health Minister at the time was Aneurin Bevan, who had three main principles for establishing the service which were to extend respect, dignity and compassion and care to people free of charge when they needed them. At the launch of the NHS this was the best health system in the whole world. Prior to 1900 health care was primarily provided by charities in the workhouse, under poor laws together with an unregulated private sector. 

Over the years the service has changed and improved. 
3 May 1968 – first heart transplant at the National Heart  Hospital, London. 
1972 – First CT scan revolutionises the way doctors can examine the body. 
1980s – Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan available. 
1987 – First lung, heart and liver transplant. 
1991 – The first wave of NHS trust establishment. 
1994 – Organ donor register established. 
1998 – NHS Wales Direct established, dealing with almost half a million calls a month. 

The NHS is now celebrating its 63rd anniversary. The last two years have been challenging for the service following Covid-19. However, amid all the difficulties by 28 July 2021 Wales has administered 2,292,572 first doses of covid-19 vaccine, 72.3% of the total population and 2,036,670 of the second dose which is 64.3% of the country's population. 

Glossary
Aneirin Bevan
Minister of Health and founder of the NHS. A man from south Wales who started his career as a miner when he left school at the age of 13.
CT Scan
A computer tomography scan that uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of the body.
First heart transplant
The first heart transplant in Britain by Donald Ross and a team of 18 doctors and nurses. Frederick West was the patient who received a heart from a man named Patrick Ryan.
Workhouse
Where poor people were able to live and do work and obtain food under poor conditions between 1700-1900.
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Helen
23/07/2021
Boy sticking drawing of rainbow on window
Humanitarian Aid

Elin Fflur was born in 1984 in Anglesey. She is a singer, songwriter and television and radio presenter. She came to fame following her success at Cân i Gymru in 2002.  

In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic Elin Fflur released a new single called Yr Enfys (“The Rainbow”) on 5 June 2020. She announced that all proceeds from the single would go to the charity Tarian Cymru. One of the charity's challenges was a 'Rice and beans challenge' to raise money for the Tearfund Cymru Yemen appeal. The challenge was for people to be sponsored to eat rice and beans for a period of 5 days. It was a challenge that made us appreciate how privileged we are. Hard to believe that 24 million people in Yemen are now in need of humanitarian aid and that 9.9 million of them are in danger of dying because of famine! And of course, Covid 19 is a threat on top of all this! 

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Helen
30/07/2021
Police women Heledd Wynne-Evans
Would you like to be a policeman or policewoman?

The minimum age to be a policeman is 18 years old. You must be a British or EU/EEA citizen, a Commonwealth citizen or an individual living unhindered in the United Kingdom. You must have been a British citizen for over 3 years.  Successful candidates must have a Level 3 or A Level qualification in any subject. 

You will need to study for a degree or complete a three-year apprenticeship. A new apprenticeship degree was introduced in 2017. You must achieve a 2:2 degree qualification or equivalent.  

Wales has four police regions:- 

  • Dyfed-PowysPolice:Chief Constable Richard Lewis. 
  • GwentPolice: Chief Constable Pam Kelly. 
  • North Wales Police: ChiefConstable Carl Foulkes. 
  • South Wales Police: ChiefConstable Jeremy Vaughan. 

Starting a career in the force can be one of the best things you've ever done. However, this job is not for everyone. It's one of the most challenging careers you can choose physically, mentally and emotionally. Is this the career for you?  

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Fireman Sam

Do you remember watching as a child one of the most popular series ever for children, Fireman Sam? Fireman Sam started more than 25 years ago and has been broadcast around the world. In Pontypandy in the South Wales valleys, we see Fireman Sam and his friends living and enjoying village life. From the sixth series onwards, the setting moved to a seaside village. 

The programme was originally created by two firefighters as an indispensable opportunity to share fire safety messages in a fun way, that is don't play with fire. It was produced in both English and Welsh from the outset, and had its original success in the late 1980s/1990s. Four series were animated at that time by stop-motion method with models. In 2005 the series returned using a combination of stop-motion animation and some computer-based elements. In 2008 the series was animated entirely on computer and is now produced in London and China.

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Braille reading system

Louis Braille 

The inventor of the Braille code was Louis Braille. He was born on 4 January 1809 in Coupvray, France. At the age of 3, while playing in his father's shop, he injured his eye with a sharp instrument. Despite the care he received, he also suffered an infection that spread to his good eye which led to him going blind. 

At the age of 16 as a student in Paris he worked hard making holes in paper to find an effective way of representing print and numbers tactically. Louis was inspired by a man named Charles Barbier. As Barbier's system was not accepted in the army he brought the system to the blind college where Braille was studying. Braille saw the potential of the system and spent three years improving it. 

By 1824 Louis established his revised Braille code which remains in use today in almost every country in the world to help blind people read. Welsh braille uses the same general rules in terms of composite signs and punctuation as 'British Braille'. 

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RNLI rescue boat

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) provides a 24-hour lifeboat service to search for and rescue anyone at risk. This is the charity that saves lives at sea. The institution was established in 1824 and has saved over 142,700 lives since then. They have a fleet of over 330 lifeboats across the United Kingdom and a few hovercraft. 

Their role also involves educating and influencing people. Their Community Safety Teams explain the risk and share safety information with anyone who ventures out at sea or on the coast. 

The institution's motto is 'With Courage Nothing is Impossible'. The motto comes from the organisation's founder, William Hilary. In the early 19th century shipwrecks and drownings were an inevitable part of working at sea with over 1,800 shipwrecks in a year. 

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Diary entry
30/07/2021

Angel of the sky 

The worst day of my life! It all started as a dream come true. Walking the old Miners' Trail to climb Wales' highest peak, Snowdon, with a group of friends. Everything was fine before the weather started to turn half way up. The fog closed in and the rain poured down and before I knew it I had fallen off the side of the mountain into a hollow below. The pain in my knee was appalling! 

Within no time I heard the sound of a red helicopter spinning above my head, a sound that reassured me as I knew that the Wales Air Ambulance had come to my rescue. The relief of lying on the stretcher and having an injection to reduce the pain was inexplicable.  It’s thanks to them that I am here today fit and well. I am now one of those important statistics of 39,155 patients rescued by the Wales Air Ambulance since 2001. I thank them and my gift to them will be great 

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News article
Talking books

Support and pleasure to blind people

30/07/2021

Exactly 45 years ago the Welsh Talking Books service was launched in a car park in Carmarthen, a resource that has proven to be extremely valuable to blind people during the pandemic.  Today around 450 people across Wales use the service every month.  

The service was started by Rhian Evans when, at the age of 30, she heard that she would lose her sight. He was an avid reader and librarian at the time. With the help of a committee of volunteers, she started recording news from the Carmarthen Journal in the Glangwili Hospital Radio studio. 

Recording studio Talking Books Wales

The response was fantastic. The work continued, reading whole books in both English and Welsh and this service then started in 1979 under the name of the Welsh Cassettes Scheme. 

The scheme still exists today, now under the name of Talking Books Wales, and is a service for people across the country. 

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Captain Tomas Moore
A Nation’s Hero
Name:
Thomas Moore
Date of birth - Date of death:
30/04/1920 - 02/02/2021
School:
Keighley High School, Yorkshire
Occupation:
Officer in the British army/ Managing Director
Rank:
Captain / Honorary colonel of an Army Training College - April 2020
Unit:
Regiment of the Duke of Wellington /145th and 146th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps
Battles:
Second World War– Campaign for Burma and the Battle of the Island of Ramree
Awards:
Pride of Britain / Medal Regiment of Yorkshire / Bachelor Knight / Gold ‘Blue Peter’ badge.