University News Last updated 02 July 2018
Dozens of staff, students and graduates from Birmingham City University will come together this week to celebrate 70 years since the formation of Britain’s historic National Health Service.
A special commemorative event will be held at the University’s City South Campus in Edgbaston to mark the platinum anniversary of the NHS, which officially turns 70 on Thursday (5 July).
The University will hold an exhibition showcasing technology, awards, equipment and photographs from the Health Service’s historic past to celebrate the last seven decades - and recognise the education provider’s own long-standing connection with the NHS.
Past, present and future NHS workers and Faculty academics will also have the chance to share stories over tea and cake which will be on sale to help raise funds for Caring Minds, a Birmingham based Mental Health NHS Foundation Charity.
Birmingham City University has been providing training for NHS workers since the 1960s, with 12,245 students graduating in subjects allied to medicine in the last decade alone.
The afternoon will offer the chance for the thousands of healthcare professionals who trained at the institution to share their memories of working for the NHS with University staff and students.
The celebration will run from 2pm to 5pm at the University’s newly re-developed City South Campus.
Professor Louise Toner, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences, said: “We are proud to be a University that is home to a wealth of staff who have worked or still work for the NHS, who use their experiences and learning to educate and train future generations.
Kevin Crimmons, a former NHS practitioner in Burns and Critical Care Nursing and Associate Professor in Adult Nursing at the University said: “The NHS has come such a long way since it was created and this event gives us the opportunity to celebrate the history and also look forward to what its future holds.
“We are so fortunate to have a service which has made such an impact on public health and this country’s identity. I look forward to celebrating what it has achieved and the experiences, both amusing and challenging, which myself and my colleagues have had during our time there.
“The service is currently under immense pressure with staffing, services and finance but this celebration is a time for reflection and hopefully motivation for current NHS staff to engage with the public and Government to work together to combat these difficulties.”
The NHS is the UK’s largest employer, with over 1.5 million staff from all over the world.
Birmingham City University has been responsible for the training of thousands of nurses, midwives, paramedics and speech and language therapists for the NHS.
It is also home to the UK’s only contract to train and educate the Armed Forces’ adult nurses, radiographers and operating department practitioners.