A LIVERPOOL hospital held a festival to commemorate the NHS’s 60th anniversary on Saturday.

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital – previously known as the Cardiothoracic Centre, in Broadgreen – held the event, which involved guided tours of an operating theatre, free health checks, acupressure massage, salsa and Tai Chi classes.

Many patients joined in the celebration, including Georgia Rawson, 19, from Claughton, Wirral, who is currently on a waiting list for a lung transplant.

Georgia, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, is treated at the hospital around three days a week and comes home for the weekends.

Her father, Jeremy, said: “The operation would change her life and she would able her to do things others take for granted. The hospital does incredibly important work and we are very grateful to the staff for making her life as comfortable as possible until we have that call which says she can have the transplant.

“It is not a cure, there are other symptoms that come with cystic fibrosis such as digestion problems but she could be off oxygen and be more active.”

The hospital changed its name last week to give future patients a clearer idea of where it is and the work it carries out.

Other Trusts across Merseyside also held events, including the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership. The mental health trust organised a 60-mile bike ride from Macclesfield to Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology in Wirral, to raise awareness.