By day City Hospital medical laboratory assistant Ricky Dragon helps in the diagnosis of sick patients – but by night he is a rap artist helping to put his poetic talents to work to change the world.
Ricky showcased his talent to his workmates at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals (SWBH) NHS Trust’s version of Britain’s Got Talent and was voted the winner.
The talent show, named ‘Trust’s Got Talent’ was held at City Hospital on Friday May 30th, with 13 acts made up of staff entertaining an audience of colleagues and friends.
Ricky rapped a poem he had written himself called ‘The Anthology of Pathology’ inspired by his job working in the Microbiology Department at City Hospital.
Ricky, who has worked at SWBH for five years, has been writing poems since he was a child and it’s only been the last couple of years that he has adapted this to the workplace.
As Microbiology’s answer to Benjamin Zephaniah, Ricky has also been asked to write and perform at weddings and special occasions for friends and colleagues in the past.
Ricky said: “I feel touched and happy to have won. Working in the NHS can sometimes be a thankless job – we get up, come to work to help sick people get better, so I think we all deserve a trophy!
“The Trust’s Got Talent show is brilliant because it shows that ordinary people, doing everyday jobs can be extraordinary, and I firmly believe the NHS is full of extraordinary people.”
Scooping second place was City Hospital Ward Services Officer Lucile Hamilton singing Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best.’
Lucile, whose job involves keeping the wards clean and serving patients their meals, was inspired to start singing by her nan and sings in her local church.
Third place was cellist Jennifer Appleyard, finance manager at City Hospital, who played the Prelude from Bach’s unaccompanied cello suite No 1.
Jennifer has been playing the cello since the age of seven and studied for her degree at the Birmingham Conservatoire.
The evening was hosted by Sky Sports presenter Gary Newbon who was blown-away by the NHS workers’ talent he saw on stage.
He said: “I’d never seen any of the performers before and I was so impressed – who needs TV anymore?”
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