What is activism where care is concerned? From the recent nursing strikes to the central role Black nursing staff played in the formation of sickle cell services, this episode explores a range of different kinds of activism in nursing history.

Frances starts by talking to writer and journalist Madeleine Bunting about her 2020 book 'Labours of Love', to find out why shadowing nurses in their everyday work was eye-opening to her, and what it might tell us about the origins of the recent nursing strikes.

This sets us up to explore the history of radical nursing in more depth. Historian and nurse consultant Chris Hart tells Frances about the history of industrial action in nursing, such as a masked nurses' protest in 1938. Professor Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, who describes herself as a Black health radical, explores activism within nursing practice, in particular her pioneering work in sickle cell nursing.

Producer: Natalie Steed

Links:

Madeleine Bunting is an award-winning British author and former journalist. You can find out more about her work, including 'Labour of Love', here: https://www.madeleinebunting.com/nonfiction

Chris Hart has written four books on nursing and its history, including 'Behind the Mask: Nurses, Their Unions and Nursing Policy' and 'Nurses and Politics': https://www.rcn.org.uk/library

Professor Dame Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu is on Twitter @EAnionwu. Her memoir, 'Dreams from my Mother' is out now in paperback with Orion. Find out more on her website: https://www.elizabethanionwu.co.uk/