Happy Birthday National Health Service - 60 Years Old Today

The British National Health Service (NHS) is 60 years old today.

As a major party of the welfare state established after the Second World War it has been a great achievement to continue to give unrestricted access to healthcare, free at the point of access, to everyone.

I still think the principle of public service is relevant to the 21st century. It inspires people to give their careers to an institution that is different and part of the wider public sphere. In an increasingly commoditised era, it is essential to retain these values and also our connections to our past.

I am very proud to be a small part of the NHS as a non-executive director of Bexley Care Trust.

It is when I work abroad that I most become aware of how unique the NHS is. Having just returned from Switzerland where you have to pay for your own private health insurance it helps me remember that this is the norm in most parts of the world.

How did I celebrate the birthday? Well we had some young people spend the day with us to explore the local history of the NHS in south east London. And then we worked with them to look at ways young people and other service users can participate in modern day health commissioning. They will be coming back to us for three days in later July to design a young person's council and do some real commissioning. Exciting stuff.

Here is the link to the story on the BBC website