Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (OBMH) is marking the 60th anniversary of the NHS in July by talking to the people who have helped make the NHS the success it is today, our staff.

Five members of staff, with over 140 years experience of working in the NHS between them, have been talking on film about their experiences, recollections and achievements. This film will be launched at the Trust’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday 17th July, 15:30-17:00 at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, and will be available from the OBMH website by the end of July.

Mike Hobbs, Medical Director at OBMH, and Tom Burns, Professor of Social Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, both appear in the film and will also be talking about 60 years of the NHS at the AGM.

In 1948, for the first time prevention, diagnosis and treatment were brought together under one umbrella organisation to create one of the most comprehensive health services in the world: the NHS. The NHS has shown the world the way to healthcare, not as a privilege to be paid for, but as a fundamental human right.

Over the last 60 years, the hard work and skills of NHS staff, coupled with medical progress, have continually helped drive up standards and quality of care for millions. The NHS has never stood still; it has changed and reformed to meet the public’s expectations and the needs of a changing society.

“The NHS has changed in many ways since I joined, a significant change being more collaboration between staff, patients and their loved ones.” Sue, 7 years OBMH service, 31 years NHS service.

“I would encourage anyone to work in mental health services, it really is a phenomenal privilege” Mike, 35 years NHS Service.

Although the NHS didn’t come into being until 1948, Warneford Hospital in Oxford has been providing mental health care for patients for much longer. The hospital opened its doors in 1826 when it was known as the Radcliffe Asylum. It was renamed the Warneford in 1843 after its greatest benefactor, Samuel Wilson Warneford, who gave property and cash to the hospital during his life.

If you would like to attend our AGM which will include presentations from staff and patients, an exhibition about our services and an opportunity to meet our staff, please contact Richard Morton on 01865 782146 or email richard.morton@obmh.nhs.uk