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The news is dominated by stories about the NHS as waiting times, doctors’ strikes and funding make it seem like it lurches from one crisis to another. To find out how the beloved NHS got into this state, and to see how it might pull itself out, writer and rapper Darren McGarvey travels across the UK to meet the staff on the front lines of the battle for Britain’s health.

Beginning his journey in a Belfast A&E, Darren meets patients waiting days to be seen and spends time with the nurses struggling to find beds as the patients continue to flow in.

Faced with a chronic shortage of social care workers, the hospital struggles to discharge patients. Darren spends a day in Dunoon with two social care workers to find out what the job is really like, and chats with the patients reliant on their care and attention. But where does the problem start?

Heading to Nairn, Darren sits in as GP Dr Baker tackles what seems like a never-ending queue of patients. With lots of people turning to private healthcare, what exactly do you get for your money? Darren gets a full private health MOT in Liverpool and finds out from the doctor what it’s like to turn to ‘the dark side’.

As the UK’s population becomes older, the country must work out how to deal with the resulting problems. Darren travels to Denmark to visit a unique multigenerational accommodation space where the elderly live among families and young people. And back in the UK, Darren’s final stop takes him to a pharmacy in Glenrothes to get a glimpse of what healthcare could be like in the future.