Residents are being invited to join the celebration of the NHS' 60th birthday by sharing their stories of Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals.

The NHS was founded on July 5, 1948 on to provide universal and free care across the UK in what was, at the time, a revolutionary concept.

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospitals in Wellhouse Lane, Barnet, and The Ridgeway, Enfield, wants people to relate their experience of that service locally over the years.

And the remembering has been kicked off by the Trusts' employees, some of whom have close personal connections to the hospitals.

Jo Beasley, 25, has worked in the communications team for three years and was also born in Chase Farm Hospital.

"My nan worked in the occupational therapy department in what was Highlands Hospital and then at Chase Farm," she said.

"My brother and sister have both had stays in Kingfisher children's ward and more recently my mum has been treated for breast cancer at Chase Farm.

"I'm really proud to be a part of an organisation that's such an important part of my family history and I'm really looking forward to hearing from other people about their experiences here."

A&E matron Ann Brizan said: "Over the years I've seen many changes and faced all sorts of challenges, but despite all the hard work I still love my job.

"I often think about patients I've cared for and their families and wonder how they are. It will be interesting to see how many of them take up this opportunity to get in touch and reminisce with us about their time here."

The Trusts' role in the NHS began when it came into being in 1999, but some of the hospitals it manages and works with, which also include Finchley Memorial, Edgware and Potters Bar community hospitals, have a much more extensive history.

Some of the buildings that form Chase Farm Hospital, for example, were built in the 19th century.

Patients' memories will be collected and used to create an exhibition in the summer, which will demonstrate how experiences of care have changed over the years and look back at some of the key milestones in the development of the NHS.

The Trust hopes it will tell the stories of some of staff and volunteers, as well as patients, that have played a part in its history.

Send your stories in by email to yourstories@bcf.nhs.uk or by writing to Joanna Beasley, Home 4, Chase Farm Hospital, The Ridgeway, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 8JL.