Staff across Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been celebrating the 70th birthday of the NHS through various events and activities.The NHS turned 70 on the 5th July 2018, and was the perfect opportunity for staff across the NHS to get together to celebrate all of the achievements and developments from the past 70 years.
Over these 70 years, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals has grown and developed to offer a range of specialised services to 1.5m people throughout Lancashire and south Cumbria, including cancer, major trauma and specialist mobility and rehabilitation.
In this time, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals has seen a huge number of advances such as the use of the da Vinci Xi robotic system to treat cancer patients, the opening of a Clinical Research Facility to provide patients with new and upcoming treatments, the launch of a digital post-mortem CT scanner, and the arrival of the LIFE centre, an educational facility to inspire careers within the NHS.
On the day, the health academies across both the Royal Preston Hospital and Chorley District Hospital sites organised birthday parties with goody bags, quizzes and bake off competitions, as well as a look back at old photographs and memorabilia from the past 70 years of the hospitals. The catering team arranged for patients across the hospital to have special NHS70 cakes on all wards and departments.Various departments created fabulous displays of what the NHS means to them, why they love the NHS and used old photos to show how all of the team looked when they first started their careers.
NHS 7 tea parties were held across the hospitals for patients and staff to get together and celebrate the birthday milestone, with a huge amount of celebratory cake on offer! Our chapel organised a celebratory service, gifts and goodies were given out in our day treatment centre, and we celebrated our NHS 70 stars throughout the day on social media.
Karen Partington, Chief Executive at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “As the NHS turns 70 this year, it has been great to see so many staff from across our hospitals pull together to celebrate. The NHS turning 70 is the perfect opportunity for us to look back at our achievements and promote what we do; as well as look to the next 70 years.” “We have seen so many achievements over the past 70 years that are attributable to our fantastic staff who work so hard on a daily basis to ensure that our patients are receiving the best care possible.”
And the celebrations aren’t over yet as NHS 70 family fun days will be held at both Preston and Chorley on Saturday 7th July to celebrate the milestone event with the public. Family fun days will take place at both Preston and Chorley hospitals on Saturday 7th July. These events will include music, games and activities including raffles, a bouncy castle, simulation ambulances and more. They will also be an opportunity to find out more about careers at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and the options available within the NHS. At Preston, games and activities will take place in car park E, the Clinical Research Facility will open its doors for activities such as the chance to create your own DNA necklace, Charters Restaurant will be filled with information stands, and Health Academy 1 will be open for more games and activities. At Chorley, there will be activities such as face painting and bouncy castles, as well as two young choirs singing their own NHS 70 songs. The LIFE centre will also open to the public to allow people to see the fantastic new educational facility. Parking will be free across both sites on this day.