A vintage tea party and tripe tastings are just two of the events being organised locally in NHS Forth Valley to help celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the NHS.

Patients, visitors, staff and volunteers are being invited to a vintage afternoon tea party which will take place in the atrium of Forth Valley Royal Hospital from 2.00 – 4.00pm. It is also hoped that many former members of NHS staff will be able to attend to catch up on yesteryear.

Serco, who provide a range of support services at the hospital including catering, will be distributing more than 1000 special NHS 70 fairy cakes to patients in hospital wards across NHS Forth Valley.  These will also be available in the atrium for staff and visitors who don’t have time to stay for a cuppa. Entertainment will be provided by the NHS Forth Valley Nurses Choir will perform in the atrium at 3.00pm and Radio Royal will also be encouraging staff and visitors to share their memories of the NHS.

The more adventurous will have an opportunity to sample tripe. Once a kitchen staple tripe (the lining of an animal’s stomach), will be available in the restaurant at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, for one day only! People will be invited to sample the dish as part of a tasting session to highlight the food typically eaten when the NHS came into being on 5^th July 1948.  Potted hough will also be available to try.

Meanwhile more than 20 wards and resource centres across NHS Forth Valley will be organising their own local celebrations. These include the oncology department, intensive care, mental health wards, Clackmannanshire Community Healthcare Centre, Falkirk Community Hospital and the Livilands Resource Centre in Stirling, which is organising a garden party for staff and service users. Larbert High School art and design students have also been involved in a number of arts projects to mark the anniversary. Earlier this year they worked with artist Sushiela Jamieson to create special 70th Anniversary willow and metal sculptures by our Art and Design pupils from BGE and senior phase. Larbert High School group ‘Almost Autumn’ also wrote and recorded a special song called ‘Living life in colour’ and made a special video at Forth Valley Royal Hospital to help showcase their work.

NHS Forth Valley Chief Executive, Cathie Cowan, said: “Our NHS has changed significantly since it was established in 1948.  Back then who could have managed the medical advances which have revolutionised treatment and helped eradicate disease and yet the best qualities have endured.  As a nurse I look back with pride at the care, the compassion and the acts of kindness that I have seen and continue to see firsthand delivered by staff of all grades and positions.  This anniversary is a time to celebrate what the NHS has achieved and to pay tribute to all staff, past and present who have helped deliver outstanding care over the past 70 years.”