First Issue | 页面 19

COVID Spectrum
How did the government behave with
the NHS just prior to the pandemic,
and during the pandemic? Did you feel
protected?
The government behaved in the best
way they thought possible, which
doesn’t mean they behaved well.
They definitely could and should
have done better in terms of timing
and enforcing the lockdown laws to
help the NHS cope with such a crisis.
Protected is a big word. It bears
an important concept that I can
honestly say is definitely not the
government or the NHS’s first
priority; it never has been and it will
never be. As I mentioned before,
clinical staff are just an asset for the
NHS and the government. This has
been largely demonstrated lately
by the ever so rising number of
members of staff who have been or
still are not able to work due to newly
developed mental health conditions,
such as depression, stress, anxiety,
etc.
Once again, all the NHS could do
for these workers was absolutely
nothing! The on-site Occupational
Health departments of many Trusts
have no clue on how to actually
support the staff; the counselling
services are so behind schedule
at the moment that it is basically
impossible to get an appointment.
Hence, a newly developed anxiety
that could be treated effectively if
tackled in an early stage, becomes
chronic anxiety with a massive
impact on the performance of the
worker, whom will need longer
to recover and potentially will be
affected in a more extensive manner,
often with long term consequences.
In conclusion, I do not feel protected
at all by the NHS nor the Government
and I never have, to be honest.
The new digital
exhibition of the
Migration Museum will
be Heart of the Nation:
Migration and the Making
of the NHS, and it will
look at personal stories
of people who have come
to Britain to work in the
NHS since its creation in
1948, until the present
day.
go visit: https://www.migrationmuseum.org
Migration Museum to reopen
its door to visitors
by Sara Manfrè
The migration museum will
reopen after a forced period of
closure due to the pandemic.
After seven years of temporary
locations, such as 2017’s
location in Lambeth, the
Migration Museum finally found
its location in Lewisham’s
shopping centre. The museum
moved there last February but
had to close down after a month
following the lockdown’s rules.
Thanks to their new location
Matthew Plowright,
Migration Museum’s Head
of Communication, said they
hope to reach people who are
interested in the topic, but
also people who do not think that
migration is relevant to them or
have not thought about it. They are
confident that more people will
come.
With the reopening of the museum,
a new exhibition will start.
Departures will look into 400 years
of emigrations stories from Britain,
emigration will be explored in its full
- why people have left and why they
still leave.
“Migration is a central
part of Britain’s history
and our story, both
individually to us, but
also collectively as a
nation.”
Given the security measures put in
place, the Migration Museum does
not have an official reopening date.
One problem will be reopening their
leading exhibition Room to Breathe.
“It’s not easy on term of social
distancing,” since it is developed in
rooms, said Plowright, “because this
exhibition is an immersive journey,
through a series of rooms, where the
visitor is invited to pick things up, sit
in a chair, interact with things, it’s
very hands-on, very interactive and
immersive.”
All the staff at the museum are
looking forward to reopening in
autumn, but in the meantime they
are planning new digital exhibitions
said Plowright. The next one will be
image: © Migration Museum
Hearth of the Nation, Migration and the
Making of the NHS.
The idea behind the migration
museum was born from a group
of different people, some of them
are trustees of the museum like
Robert Winder, Barbara Roche, and
Sophie Henderson, who all thought
that migration is a central part
of Britain’s story, and that were
involved, or had a connection with
migration stories in some way.
The idea behind the Migration
Museum, and what united the
museum’s staff, said Plowright,
“was that sense that migration is a
central part of Britain’s history and
our story, both individually to us,
but also collectively as a nation. The
idea is to create a national museum
that can explore how the movement
of people to and from Britain across
history has made us who we are
today.”
In fact, Plowright explained that
migration is relevant to everyone
because if we look at everyone’s
family history, we will find stories of
migration, whether they are internal
migrations, countryside to city, or
international migrations.
The Migration Museum’s first
exhibition in 2013, in Hackney
museum and then on tour, illustrated
migrations through people’s
photographs. The museum also went
to schools to educate about this topic.
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