Hello I'm Kirstie Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1993 and the presenter was Sue Lolly. My castaway this week is a politician. I feel deeply, she says, that we were put on this earth to do good.

She was brought up in London part of a large family which has always been very important to her.

Her husband became an MP in 1975 and after several attempts she followed him nine years later.

Since then she's been rapidly promoted as be

fit someone who was not made head girl at school but has in her own words

been determined to prove them wrong ever since.

Today she's the Secretary of State for Health Virginia

bottomly.

Virginia public service is patently very strong in you as an ethic but there must be easier ways of serving than being Health Secretary at the moment.

It may be, but it is a tremendous privilege to be Health Secretary for a service which really around the world is so highly regarded.

But do you enjoy it to me? Is there enjoyment? I love it. I believe in it.

It's one of those jobs you know you won't do forever, but I'm determined that what I do it,

I'll do it the best I can.

But how can you enjoy it with all of that antagonism and people throwing eggs at you

when you arrive at places and disgruntled doctors and nursing bodies complaining demonstrations

confrontations, bitterness. Yes that's not what you see though if you call

in at an accident emergency service at midnight that's not what you see

if you go around a hospice if you go around a ward in any of our hospitals up and down the

country you see people wanting to do good wanting to give to others.

That's what brings them into the health service and that's what motivates them.

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