The manager of nursing and residential home, Fremantle Court, run by local care provider and charity, The Fremantle Trust, presented Stoke Mandeville Ambulance Service with special cakes to mark the NHS’s 70th birthday, as part of wider celebrations across the Trust.

Antonios Loumousiotis and members of the team from the Stoke Mandeville-based care home turned up with treats and birthday cupcakes as a gesture of thanks and to reiterate the importance of partnership working in the local community.

Meanwhile, attendees at the Trust’s management conference dug deep to donate funds to the South Central Ambulance Charity in exchange for generous slices of a special anniversary cake, in support of the #NHSBIG7tea campaign.

Across Buckinghamshire the Trust has been recognising the incredible work of the NHS over the last 70 years.  Peggy Jovanovic, an 88 year old resident at Icknield Court in Princes Risborough looked back on her career as a nurse at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

She joined the NHS as a nurse in 1956 and met the love of her life there, her beloved husband, Risto. Peggy worked her way up the career ladder to be a nursing officer and retired in 1990, having invested years of passion and dedication in helping others.

Reflecting on her career, Peggy said:

I always loved caring for patients and passing on knowledge to others. My hopes for the future of the service would be to achieve the level of care that we, as nurses, worked so hard to achieve during our time in the NHS.

Antonios commented:

As a local nursing and residential home rooted in the community, we are proud to support our ambulance service and to celebrate the care that people in the NHS in our area have provided over the years and continue to do so.

Tracy Mould, Clinical Mentor at Stoke Mandeville Ambulance Service, added:

It was a really thoughtful gesture to have a special delivery of cakes and snack bags from Antonios and the team from Fremantle Court to celebrate the NHS’s 70th anniversary. It also shows the importance of developing good relationships with local care providers to support our community.