NHS wellwishers were up bright and early (6 am) on 5th July to celebrate the 69th birthday of the National Health Service as staff streamed into Barnet Hospital for the morning shift.
The group of Enfield residents, including some from the group Defend Enfield NHS (DENHS) and some who had themselves been patients at Barnet Hospital, were there to say thank you to the hundreds of staff working at the hospital. As well as giving out more than 800 greetings cards to the staff, they treated them to cake and other snacks and invited them to sign a huge birthday card.
Jeff Lever was one of the DENHS members greeting health service workers. He says, "Despite the early hour, the big birthday card brought smiles to the faces of the hospital staff and they were touched to see how people appreciated their efforts. But what would really cheer them up would be if the government were to lift the 1 per cent cap on their pay. And they were clearly anxious about the Guardian's revelations about the "capped expenditure process" and secret plans for big cuts to NHS services in North London."
