Keep Our NHS Public Sunderland secretary Laura Murrell talks about the exhibition depicting life during the Covid pandemic.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 So here we have one of the exhibits here, one of the quilts which has been made.
00:04 As you can see, we've got an events planner which Zoom features quite heavily in which I'm sure we all remember.
00:12 You can see there we've got what looks like the monster of Covid being attacked by the NHS member of staff there.
00:26 If we move across we've got some key headlines from the time which we all remember reading in the newspapers.
00:32 This one here expressing quite a confusing time with lots of mixed messages.
00:40 You can see Barnard Castle for example featuring on there.
00:43 Another one there about the Covid symptoms we're all taught to watch out for.
00:51 If we pan round here, this one is quite a significant piece.
00:56 This was actually produced by somebody who lost one of their relatives in a care home.
01:01 It's got the very poignant message 'I cannot hold you' which was obviously the situation a lot of people were in at the time.
01:08 Okay then Laura, if you could just tell me a bit about what this exhibition is all about then.
01:14 The exhibition is called 'Threads of Survival' and it's been coordinated by an organisation called Call 999 for the NHS
01:23 which is similar to my own organisation which campaigns against cuts to NHS services.
01:30 It's a touring exhibition, it's been going around the country since 2021
01:35 and it's a reflection of how people felt during the pandemic, their political views, their personal views.
01:44 It's emotional, some of it is funny, for instance the Boris part on the quilt there.
01:53 But it began with only four people and has snowballed into over 180 people across England who have contributed to it now and it's still ongoing.
02:03 It's appeared at the British Biennial Textile Exhibition in 2021 and it's going there later this year in October.
02:15 It's being held in Bradford.
02:17 So it's well respected, it's been well received and from our point of view as an organisation
02:24 what we find most significant about it is that it's trying to expose some of the myths about COVID.
02:35 It's trying to remember all the staff that suffered during the COVID, the public that suffered obviously,
02:43 those people who lost relatives in care homes and generally.
02:48 And in the 75th year of the NHS birthday this year, it keeps the NHS at the forefront of our minds and reminds us how important it is.
02:58 The pandemic was obviously such a significant part of NHS history, it shouldn't be forgotten.
03:04 The COVID inquiry is still ongoing, so yes, we thought it was a fitting tribute to the NHS.
03:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]