THOUSANDS of local health staff celebrated the NHS birthday in style yesterday (July 6) with free ice creams delivered to their doorstep.

More than 5,000 cones and lollies were dished out to staff working for the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust at its sites across Berkshire West.

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The goodies were a gift from the Royal Berks Charity.

Four ice cream vans toured the Trust sites throughout the day handing out cones and ice lollies as part of the celebrations to wish the NHS a happy 72nd birthday.

The vans visited Reading’s Royal Berkshire Hospital, Bracknell Healthspace, Prince Charles Eye Unit, Windsor Dialysis Centre, West Berkshire Community Hospital, Townlands Memorial Hospital, Henley and the Dingley Child Development Centre on the University of Reading campus.

Trust Chief Executive Steve McManus said: “Our staff have gone through such tough times recently and we wanted to show our appreciation, and the 72nd birthday celebrations seems a good time to lay on this treat.

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"It’s just a small part of a wider range of initiatives we’ve implemented to support our staff and say thank you for all their commitment and dedication."

“It was great to see them all enjoying their ice creams – at a proper social distance of course!” he added.