Hello Dolly, and other memories from times past

I first visited New York in the March of 1985. It was an unforgettable trip for many reasons, and I fell in love with the place. At one time I boasted that if I ever won the Lottery, I would buy an apartment there. That isn’t the case now; I love living by the sea more. However, over the years I have visited many times, and I hope to do so again. My fantasy is to live long enough to travel there in the new Concorde – I never got to fly in the original one.

On that first trip, I did all the usual tourist things, which included a visit to the twin towers. Each of the towers had 110 floors, and there was a tourist observation deck on floor 107. I can remember sitting on the floor and looking straight down to the pavement. It was said that on a clear day you could see for 45 miles in every direction! The twin towers really were one of the marvels of the world. On the 11th September 2001, they were both destroyed in terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda, masterminded by Osama Bin Laden.

I suspect that many readers of this blog will remember exactly where they were when the attacks happened. I was in Finland. I was having something to eat and drink at a friend’s apartment while watching the news on TV. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and when the second plane crashed into the South Tower, I knew I was witnessing something terrible and horrifying. It was late afternoon in Finland and that evening’s TV coverage of the events, as they were unfolding in New York was almost unbearable to watch.

I have been back to New York just three times since the attack. The last time, I went with J and we did all the tourist things again. The 9/11 Memorial and Museum were completed and we were able to visit both. It is a profoundly emotional place. The almost unthinkable and catastrophic events of 22 years ago are captured in the museum’s collections of artifacts, photos, stories and each reminds the visitor of the impact such terrorist acts have on individuals, nations and the world. The memorial symbolically and powerfully ‘attests to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity, and affirms an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life’.

On the same visit we had an opportunity to visit the One World Trade Centre, a shiny new tower built on part of the old World Trade Centre site and which opened in 2014. It too has an observation floor (102). After visiting the 9/11 Memorial, we decided that was one tourist activity we didn’t need to do.

Someone else who recognised the fundamental value of human life was also in the news last week. That was Sir Ian Wilmut. He was the man who led the team that created Dolly the sheep. Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. They used a gland from a Finn Dorset sheep and an egg cell from a Scottish Blackface sheep. The news of their success in creating Dolly was first published in the Observer newspaper in February 1997. The story caused a stir in both the scientific world and across society as a whole. There was a very public debate about the ethics of cloning, and in particular, fears that Wilmut’s technique could be used in the future to clone humans. Wilmut described the idea as being ‘repugnant’ – his work was aimed at enabling others to study genetic diseases where there is no known cure.

Whilst Dolly went on to live a happy life, shared with a small flock of other sheep at the research institute, he continued his research into how stem cells could be used to cure degenerative diseases. He admitted later on in life, after developing Parkinson’s, that he had been a little optimistic about how quickly such research could lead to effective treatment. Parkinson’s UK continue to research stem cell therapies as a way of using healthy, living cells to replace or repair the damage in the brains of people living with Parkinson’s.

I remember 1997 for other reasons too. I was 18 months into my PhD which explored relationships between GP Fundholding practices and the acute hospital sector, and the impact fundholding had on patient care. Many fundholding practices were more interested in promoting their own ambitions rather than supporting national health objectives. In 1997, a newly elected Labour government abolished GP Fundholding and published their reforms in its White Paper the New NHS: Modern. Dependable. The reforms promised a great deal through the proposed modernisation of the NHS. It is still an interesting read and sets out a future that, 26 years later, we are still struggling to achieve: ‘Individual patients, who too often have been passed from pillar to post between competing agencies, will get access to an integrated system of care that is quick and reliable. Local doctors and nurses, who best understand patients' needs, will shape local services’.

Today, our emergent integrated approach to health and care recognises the importance of social care, the involvement of the voluntary sector, and community groups; and the need to deal with health and other inequalities. In the April of 1998, I wrote and had published my first ever academic paper. In it, I argued the modernisation proposals gave rise to both challenges and opportunities for health and care providers. And somewhat prescient, I argued that we needed to start with fostering resilience in our children and young people and the neighbourhoods and communities they live in. A healthy start in life will help secure both their futures and all of ours too.