5x15

Rachel Clarke is a palliative care doctor and former television journalist who cares deeply about standing up for her patients and the NHS. She retrained as a doctor in her late twenties, after making current affairs documentaries about subjects as diverse as the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Al Qaeda and the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rachel believes that helping patients who are approaching the end of their lives experience the best quality life possible is priceless. She lives in Oxford with her husband and two children. Her new book, Breathtaking, is an unflinching insider’s account of medicine in the time of coronavirus. Drawing on testimony from nursing, acute and intensive care colleagues – as well as, crucially, her patients – Clarke argues that this age of contagion has inspired a profound attentiveness to – and gratitude for – what matters most in life. 5x15 brings together outstanding individuals to tell of their lives and inspirations. This talk was recorded at an online 5x15