25 January 2018

Shropshire’s two acute hospitals will celebrate the 70th birthday of the NHS with a specially themed fun day this summer.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust will hold the event in the grounds of the Shropshire Conference Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) on Saturday 7 July.

The event will include the unveiling of a specially commissioned sculpture celebrating 70 years of the NHS.

Clive Knowles (Owner and Chairman of the British Ironwork Centre), Ian Morris-Jones (Logistics Manager at SaTH) and Nigel Watkinson (Medical Engineering Manager) with obsolete hospital equipment that will be used to create the sculpture.

The NHS turns 70 on 5 July. It’s the perfect opportunity to celebrate the achievements of one of the nation’s most loved institutions and to thank the extraordinary NHS staff – the everyday heroes – who are always there to greet, advise, and care for, us.

NHS organisations across the country will be marking the anniversary with a series of events including:

  • Open days
  • Exhibitions
  • Staff awards themed around the birthday
  • The NHS Big7Tea – a tea party for staff, retired staff, volunteers, patients, users, carers and local community groups
  • Competitions for local children and young people to get involved

Julia Clarke, Director of Corporate Governance at SaTH, which runs RSH and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, said: “We first held an open day at our Trust two years ago, which grew hugely last year when we combined it with our annual charity hospital walk, run and cycle.

“This year, we plan to make it even bigger and better by inviting partner organisations to join with us in celebrating the 70th birthday of the greatest gift Britain has ever given to itself – the NHS.

“Planning is still at an early stage, but there will be stalls and attractions, as well as a fundraising element in the form of a 5km circular charity walk or run and a separate cycle ride.”

The fun day, which is being organised by a team of volunteers, is being held at Shropshire Conference Centre, as it provides the opportunity for events to be moved indoors in case of bad weather.

Julia said: “This will be a real community celebration and we would love to see as many people there as possible. This is a great way to say thank you to the countless doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, paramedics, scientists, porters, cleanliness technicians and other NHS staff who have looked after us for the last 70 years.”

Anyone who would like to get involved in the fun day can contact the organising team via SaTH’s dedicated website at https://www.sath.nhs.uk/about-us/nhs70/

70 years of the NHS to be celebrated with a unique Ironwork sculpture

A unique sculpture to mark the 70th year of the NHS will be unveiled at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s (SaTH) annual Fun Day – thanks to a special partnership with the British Ironwork Centre.

Clive Knowles searching through old SaTH equipment for parts to create the sculpture.

The Centre, which is based on the A5 between Oswestry and Shrewsbury, has agreed to make a striking sculpture using obsolete hospital equipment to celebrate 70 years of the NHS – and both organisations are now calling on you, the people the NHS belongs to, to come up with design ideas.

Old pieces of equipment that can no longer be used or repaired include: obsolete blood pressure monitors, parts of hospital beds, surgical hands, microscopes, a former anaesthetic machine, a broken dialysis machine and wheelchairs.

Anyone with ideas for the sculpture should contact us via https://www.sath.nhs.uk/about-us/nhs70/ before Friday 16 February. Every suggestion will be discussed by a panel from SaTH and the British Ironwork Centre before a final design is created and unveiled at SaTH’s Charity Fun Day.

The NHS – one of the nation’s most loved institutions – is turning 70 on 5 July 2018. SaTH will hold a special NHS 70 Charity Fun Day on Saturday 7 July at the Shropshire Education Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Richard Jones, Senior Communications Specialist at SaTH, was the man who originally floated the idea of working with the British Ironwork Centre to create a sculpture to mark the landmark.

He said: “I have known the team at the British Ironwork Centre for many years, and having been involved in a number of exciting projects with them in the past, I knew they would be the perfect partners to create something that reflects how passionate we all are about the NHS.”

Clive Knowles, Owner and Chairman of the British Ironwork Centre, said: “We are delighted to be working with SaTH to create a stunning sculpture to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS.

“We want to create something that stands the test of time and not only reflects our love for the NHS but also the kind, caring and hard-working people who work in the organisation throughout Shropshire.

“A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with cancer and became seriously ill, and although I have now put that behind me it has given me great empathy with the NHS and with hospitals generally. I was in hospital for three months – first at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and then at The Christie in Manchester – and I will always be grateful for the care I got from our National Health Service.”

The sculpture will be created by Luke Kite, an extremely talented artist from Shropshire. The British Ironwork Centre has several examples of his work on display in their showrooms and they always prove popular with visitors.

Clive added: “Charity work and community engagement runs through every fibre of our business, it is at the very heart of what we do, so we were delighted to take up this opportunity to work with our local acute hospital Trust.”

Julia Clarke, Director of Corporate Governance, met with Mr Knowles this week to discuss the project, and said she was extremely grateful for their support in agreeing to make the statue free of charge.

“We have big plans when it comes to celebrating the 70th anniversary of the NHS so to have a sculpture created, with input from the people we serve, is really very special.

“It is also great that the sculpture will make use of obsolete hospital equipment which otherwise would be sent to scrap. SaTH takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and therefore I am delighted we are recycling old equipment and reducing the amount of waste that potentially goes to landfill.

“We want people to get in touch by submitting their ideas via https://www.sath.nhs.uk/about-us/nhs70/ by Friday 16 February and tell us ‘what one image you think best celebrates the NHS?’

“We are so grateful to the British Ironwork Centre for their support and look forward to working with them on this exciting project.”