This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/feb/06/vanessa-redgrave-tribute-nhs-staff-junior-doctors-rally
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Vanessa Redgrave pays tribute to NHS staff at junior doctors rally | Vanessa Redgrave pays tribute to NHS staff at junior doctors rally |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Vanessa Redgrave has addressed crowds at a rally to support junior doctors in dispute with the government, paying personal tribute to NHS staff for saving her life and caring for members of her family. | Vanessa Redgrave has addressed crowds at a rally to support junior doctors in dispute with the government, paying personal tribute to NHS staff for saving her life and caring for members of her family. |
| The actor, 79, lost her daughter Natasha Richardson in 2009 after a skiing accident, and the following year she lost her brother Corin and sister Lynn to cancer. | The actor, 79, lost her daughter Natasha Richardson in 2009 after a skiing accident, and the following year she lost her brother Corin and sister Lynn to cancer. |
| Last April, Redgrave had to be rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack while alone in her flat in Chiswick, west London. | Last April, Redgrave had to be rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack while alone in her flat in Chiswick, west London. |
| Addressing the rally in central London, she said: “My life was saved at the end of April last year by NHS consultants, NHS junior doctors and nurses in Hammersmith hospital. Thank you.” | Addressing the rally in central London, she said: “My life was saved at the end of April last year by NHS consultants, NHS junior doctors and nurses in Hammersmith hospital. Thank you.” |
| Related: The junior doctors' protest has united my entire profession | Tamal Ray | Related: The junior doctors' protest has united my entire profession | Tamal Ray |
| She said NHS doctors and nurses had provided her family with care and compassion, but they were being overstretched and under-resourced. | She said NHS doctors and nurses had provided her family with care and compassion, but they were being overstretched and under-resourced. |
| And she told the crowd that her father, the actor Sir Michael Redgrave, who died in 1985 after suffering from Parkinson’s disease for 12 years, had his care undermined by Margaret Thatcher’s government. | And she told the crowd that her father, the actor Sir Michael Redgrave, who died in 1985 after suffering from Parkinson’s disease for 12 years, had his care undermined by Margaret Thatcher’s government. |
| She said: “My father died aged 70 in 1985. The hospital doctors told me and my brother that they’d got rid of the trouble he was in hospital for – Parkinson’s disease had blocked his bowels. | She said: “My father died aged 70 in 1985. The hospital doctors told me and my brother that they’d got rid of the trouble he was in hospital for – Parkinson’s disease had blocked his bowels. |
| “But they said: ‘Next time it gets blocked, don’t bring him back, we haven’t got enough beds.’ That was Mrs Thatcher’s government, and my father was just one of the fathers.” | “But they said: ‘Next time it gets blocked, don’t bring him back, we haven’t got enough beds.’ That was Mrs Thatcher’s government, and my father was just one of the fathers.” |
| Recalling her brother’s care, she added: “My brother had a cardiac arrest in 2005 that meant short-term memory loss. That meant that he could read, he was still a wonderful person, but he couldn’t act anymore.” | Recalling her brother’s care, she added: “My brother had a cardiac arrest in 2005 that meant short-term memory loss. That meant that he could read, he was still a wonderful person, but he couldn’t act anymore.” |
| She said he needed support for his mental health, but this was “at the bottom of the rung of the whole system which this government leads”. | She said he needed support for his mental health, but this was “at the bottom of the rung of the whole system which this government leads”. |
| Redgrave added: “He was given some help freely, under the counter as it were, by an NHS psychiatric consultant who kept his spirits up because she knew what Corin needed. | |
| Related: The secret junior doctor's diary: 'After 40 minutes of chest compressions, we stop' | Related: The secret junior doctor's diary: 'After 40 minutes of chest compressions, we stop' |
| “But my brother didn’t get everything he needed. He did get 10 weeks and that was all that was allowed. She was great, but she could only give 10 weeks and she was in such a rush with the workload she’d got she could hardly speak a straight sentence. I thank her for what she put in for my brother, but I know what overwork means, as you do.” | “But my brother didn’t get everything he needed. He did get 10 weeks and that was all that was allowed. She was great, but she could only give 10 weeks and she was in such a rush with the workload she’d got she could hardly speak a straight sentence. I thank her for what she put in for my brother, but I know what overwork means, as you do.” |
| Several hundred demonstrators gathered at the rally, which comes ahead of a 24-hour walkout due on Wednesday, when junior doctors will provide emergency care only from 8am. | Several hundred demonstrators gathered at the rally, which comes ahead of a 24-hour walkout due on Wednesday, when junior doctors will provide emergency care only from 8am. |
| Redgrave was joined at the rally by her friend and fellow long-term political activist, Vivienne Westwood. | Redgrave was joined at the rally by her friend and fellow long-term political activist, Vivienne Westwood. |
| The fashion designer told the crowd: “Junior doctors are the future and you will win. You are fighting to protect the National Health Service, the NHS. To protect it from government cuts. We need more doctors not less doctors. Doctors who get enough sleep so they can give their best care to patients.” | The fashion designer told the crowd: “Junior doctors are the future and you will win. You are fighting to protect the National Health Service, the NHS. To protect it from government cuts. We need more doctors not less doctors. Doctors who get enough sleep so they can give their best care to patients.” |