REDDITCH people queued in the town centre at the weekend to show their support for the NHS on its 65th birthday.

Nearly 400 people signed a giant birthday card at a four hour street stall.

Councillor Rebecca Blake, Labour's Parliamentary spokesman, said: “From children, parents to grandparents and everyone in between, hundreds of people wanted to back the NHS. Many people said how their lives had been saved by the NHS and wrote messages stating why the NHS was important to them.

"With the challenges we face at the Alex, it is particularly important that people have the opportunity to show their support for the NHS. We don't simply want to celebrate the past 65 years, we want to send a message that we still need it in the future.

"There were a minority of people who highlighted the problems they had experienced, whether it was accessing mental health services, a reduction in services in the community or at the hospital. Making it clear to me that services need improving not cutting and staff need support, not this uncertainty about their jobs.”

As well as signing the birthday card, residents shared their stories of why the NHS is important to them by writing a personal note to Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health.
Coun Blake added: “All responses and the card will be delivered to the Department of Health to show that Redditch not only backs services at the Alex, we also back the NHS - free at the point of use.”