Voiceless Isolation

Anne Murphy’s mother was born between two world wars. She was a young working woman when the National Health Service (NHS) was established in 1948. With this, the concept that the UK would have quick and reliable access to health care, from cradle to grave, was introduced. So began a new era: a promise of health security for all.

Decades later, Anne Murphy’s mother was elderly, ailing and in need of health care.

Voiceless Isolation is a collection of poems focusing on these final years. It documents the author’s experiences of accessing health care on behalf of her elderly relatives during the 2010s and early 2020s; and it describes her observations as she witnessed her mother’s health deteriorate.