View as a webpage  /  Share

6 July 2023

Message from the chief executive

The 75th anniversary of the NHS gives us a chance to reflect on the past, look ahead to the future, and celebrate our incredible staff. The very foundation on which our health service was built, originated here at the Royal Free London (RFL). More than 190 years ago, surgeon William Marsden came across a penniless woman, dying from disease, on the steps of a London church. Outraged by the injustice of her death, William was inspired to open a hospital to provide free healthcare to those who couldn’t afford medical treatment. The Royal Free Hospital was founded in 1828. Since our establishment, the RFL has had a history of leading the way in many areas of healthcare: advancing our understanding of illness; taking advantage of the latest technology; developing new and better therapies and tackling health and social inequalities. Looking ahead, we must also play our part in helping to reduce health inequalities. It simply isn’t acceptable that the quality of care a patient receives can depend on their ethnicity, gender or sexuality. As one of our immediate priorities, we are working hard on a number of projects to understand where inequalities lie and how we can address them. It was fantastic to see all of the events across our sites throughout the week to mark NHS 75. From lighting up our hospitals with the iconic blue of the NHS to rewarding the achievements of our amazing staff at this year’s staff Oscars and sharing their stories on BBC Radio 5 Live, to whom we opened our doors to present live coverage throughout the night. You can read more about how we celebrated in this week’s update. Kind regards Peter Landstrom Interim group chief executive Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Happy 75th birthday NHS

Staff across the RFL joined colleagues up and down the country to mark the 75th birthday of the NHS.

Below you can read about how we celebrated.

Staff Oscars awards

The group RFL Oscars event took place at the Royal College of Physicians with staff across 13 categories being recognised for their stellar work over the past year.

The event, generously supported by the Royal Free Charity, took place on the eve of NHS 75 celebrations and a number of colleagues who were born in the year the NHS was founded, and volunteers over the age of 75, were invited.

Bradley Walsh, comedian, actor, and TV presenter was the special guest on the night. 

Read the story on our website. 

BBC Radio 5 Live at the Royal Free Hospital

On Tuesday 5 July, BBC Radio 5 Live spent the night broadcasting from the Royal Free Hospital, with presenter Dotun Adebayo speaking to an array of staff and patients including porters, nurses and registrars about what the NHS means to them.

The team were also able to speak with new mum and dad Ersida and Latif as their new son, Alois, was born moments after the team arrived on the labour ward.

You can listen to the full show on BBC Sounds.

BBC 5 Live Breakfast Show

Chief executive of the Royal Free Hospital John Connolly also spoke to the BBC 5 Live Breakfast Show about the challenges facing the NHS and the incredible work of our amazing staff. You can listen here.

Hemant Vakharia featured on BBC 5 Live

Hemant Vakharia, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Barnet Hospital, and RFL staff governor, spoke with presenter Naga Munchetty about being part of the NHS and the work he does.

He took part in the show which focused on women's health. Listen from 6.15 minutes here

Celebrations at Downing Street

Group director of midwifery David Connor joined an NHS Champions’ reception at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday evening. He was nominated to attend by Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet. This was an opportunity to meet with colleagues across the NHS and MPs.

Westminster Abbey service

RFL emergency department, portering, and switchboard colleagues were among 1,500 health service staff who attended the NHS 75 celebration service at Westminster Abbey. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh attended the service, which also featured an address from NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard.

Mayor of Barnet thanked staff at Barnet Hospital

The Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Nagus Narenthira, and her escort, Mr Kan Narenthira, visited Barnet Hospital to thank staff for their incredible work.

Royal Free Charity photo wins award

A photograph showing a Royal Free Hospital patient having a haircut and shave at his hospital bedside won a national competition to mark 75 years of the NHS.

The winning entry in the ‘Our NHS at 75’ photo competition was submitted in the partners category which celebrates the crucial role partnerships play in delivering the best possible care for NHS patients. Jenny Brodie, content marketing manager at the Royal Free Charity, took the winning photograph.

You can read more here.

Industrial action – latest updates

Junior doctors

The British Medical Association has announced that junior doctors will participate in five days of industrial action between 7am on Thursday 13 July and 7am on Tuesday 18 July.

This is the longest strike to date and will be followed by a two-day strike by consultants.

Consultants

Consultants have voted to strike following a ballot by the British Medical Association. Industrial action will take place from 7am on Thursday 20 July for 48 hours.

We expect this period of industrial action to have more impact on our services than previous strikes due to the length.

Throughout this strike action, emergency care will be prioritised, and we will be encouraging patients to come forward as usual.

Patients whose appointments are affected during this period will be contacted directly.

We have started planning for this – we will share the latest updates via our website.

Chase Farm Hospital leadership arrangements

Deborah Sanders, Barnet Hospital chief executive, will take on the role of acting chief executive of Chase Farm Hospital and group clinical services when Alan McGlennan departs later this month.

Alan is moving to Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to become their chief medical officer, after 16 years at the RFL. We wish him well for the future.

Deborah will continue as chief executive of Barnet Hospital and cover the Chase Farm Hospital and group clinical services chief executive in the interim.

Medicine for Members – catch up now

Specialist RFL heart failure clinicians showcased their incredible work to improve patient care at our latest Medicine for Members' event. You can watch the recording here.

At the event, titled, ‘Heart failure: a serious but treatable and reversible condition’, three clinicians spoke about the life changing work that they have been carrying out and the difference it is making to our patients.

They spoke about recent changes to heart failure treatment, diagnosis, how changes in medication are making a difference to patients’ quality and length of life and the digitisation of the heart failure pathway.

Medicine for Members' events are hosted by our governors and focus on topics important to patients, staff and the local community.