5 July 2023

Shropshire’s two acute hospitals are marking the 75th birthday of the National Health Service by celebrating its staff and all of their achievements.

This significant milestone on Wednesday 5 July provides an opportunity for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to celebrate our NHS and the difference it makes to people’s lives day in day out.

Louise Barnett, Chief Executive at SaTH, said: “When the NHS was founded in 1948, it was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery, and it continues to touch all of our lives today.

“The NHS has seen enormous change over the years and faced and risen to many challenges, but it has always evolved and adapted to meet the needs of each generation, delivering huge medical advances along the way.

“This is all down to the incredible people who together make up our National Health Service.”

SaTH has a variety of celebratory activities happening throughout the week and five members of its staff have been selected to represent the Trust at Westminster Abbey for the NHS75 service on Wednesday.

They are Mel Amor, volunteer; Mei-See Hon, Consultant Obstetrician; Shireen Mitcham, MRI Lead Radiographer; Jamie Henry, Senior Practice Education Facilitator and Kev Malton, Medical Device Library Technologist.

Jamie Henry arrived in the UK as an overseas nurse in 2015 from the Philippines. She went on to become a professional development nurse for the international nursing team and now leads the workstream for healthcare support workers (HCSW).

She said: “I am very excited and honoured that I have been chosen to represent education, nursing and now healthcare support workers – taking a piece of SaTH to the Abbey.”

Staff and volunteer stories celebrating their amazing contributions to the NHS will be shared across SaTH’s social media channels during the week.