TV Programmes

Posted by: gommon on: March 24, 2009

• In: Birth | Childbirth | conception | Dispatches | Health | Midwife | midwifery | NHS | Preconception | Preconceptual | Stafford Hospital | television | The Great Sperm Race | tv | www.channel4.com | You Gov survey
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I don’t usually watch that much TV, that is except the odd trashy programme that I relax to, but I watched a couple of really interesting programmes last night that would be well worth trying to catch if you can.

The first is very relevant to my recent blog about the Stafford hospital investigation, it was a Dispatches programme entitled “Confessions of a Nurse” and was on Channel 4 at 8pm last night.

The programme was based around a You Gov survey which questioned nurses and midwives on their experiences.  The programme made uncomfortable viewing and called into question the conduct of some nursing staff, but also clearly showed the stressful conditions that staff are routinely expected to work under – for example no meal breaks, no toilet breaks and so on and the appalling conditions that some patients have to tolerate.  In my opinion, once again it showed a health service at breaking point.  www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/confessions-of-a-nurse-yougov-survey

This programme was followed on Channel 4 at 9pm by “The Great Sperm Race” which discussed the process of conception, but from an interesting angle – the programme makers magnified the size of a sperm to be the size of an adult person and depicted the journey of the sperm through to conception – really informative.  www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-sperm-race/articles/the-great-sperm-race-game