The Tredegar Health Tape
From the collection of
Tyrone O'Sullivan talks to David Parry-Jones
- Hirwaun
- 2004
The Tredegar Health Tape
Tredegar was a place of health service pioneering - but what ails its legacy now?
The benefits of a collective health service are emphasized in this video, which highlights the significance of the Tredegar Medical Aid Society. Formed in 1890 to provide health care free at the point of use in return for contributions from its members, the Society is held to be the model on which the National Health Service was developed. There are shots of the surgeries that housed the Tredegar Medical Aid Society, and early struggles to establish the Society, and the benefits that were enjoyed by its members, are recalled by Mr E.J. Hughes, present Chair of the Society, and Mrs Childs, who has worked for the organisation since 1941.
The video tracks the development of the local hospitals, such as Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny, up to the present, and records opinions on issues of centralization of health centres. GPs, residents, union officers and Michael Foot (MP for Ebbw Vale) share their views, all in the context of contemporary health reports and service planning. There are cuts and inequalities in current health provision which have an impact on staff and services, e.g. at the Heath Hospital, Cardiff, where trained technicians etc. are overworked, underpaid, and have no work-life balance, and where nurses are having to double as receptionists. Produced for the All Wales Video Project.
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Our Valleys
What makes the Valleys tick? Video captures locals' voices from one Cwm to the next, revealing their hopes, concerns and unique take on life.
The famous South Wales Valleys (Y Cymoedd) stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east, and have been subject to as many cliches as closed coal mines.
The Valleys have contributed much to the UK's film and television history: early film pioneer William Haggar, actors Siân Phillips and Stanley Baker, and directors Karl Francis and Chris Monger, to name but a few notables - and that's in addition to the decades of classic films set against the backdrop of coal tips and terraced houses - How Green Was My Valley, The Corn is Green, The Citadel et al.
Around 30% of the population of Wales lives here, and it's the stories, concerns and culture of these people that are given voice in this collection. From folk heroes to real-life role models, from searing social issues to inspiring and indomitable Valleys women, these films cut through the stereotypes and give voice to the region's more authentic and unvarnished stories.
17 videos in this collection
1
Tyrone O'Sullivan talks to David Parry-Jones
2
Simon Weston talks to David Parry-Jones
3
Time to Talk
4
Guto Nyth Brân
5
Mari Lwyd
6
Haiku Cwm Afan
7
Y Fari Lwyd, Llangynwyd
8
SOS Titanic
9
Troedrhiwgwair
10
Bitter Litter
11
Elderly Welfare Rights
12
Times Change, People Change - Aberfan Lads Group 16-19 Years
13
Why Men React the Way They Do? Will Hoover Close?
14
The Tredegar Health Tape
15
Elaine Morgan talks to David Parry-Jones
16
Max Boyce talks to David Parry-Jones
17