In a series tracing decisive moments in the life of our National Health Service, medical historian Sally Sheard tells the story of how the modern hospitals built in the early decades of the NHS transformed not only the lives of staff, who worked and often lived in hospitals, but the experiences of patients too.

When Health Minister, Enoch Powell's, ambitious 'Hospital Plan' launched in 1962, it wasn't a moment too soon. Its aim was to replace the crumbling Victorian buildings with state-of-the-art efficient designs, fit for the purposes of modern medicine.

New treatments, like chemotherapy and dialysis, were changing how patients were being treated. They involved new machines and equipment, and new medical teams, all of which needed space.

While the new space was welcome, the new hospital designs also transformed the relationships of the staff and patients within them.

Producer: Beth Eastwood. Show less