It was created out of a post war desire for change and the growing consensus that greater financial resources should be directed towards fostering a more caring and inclusive society. A service based on need – not ability to pay.

This Saturday marks her sixtieth birthday – something we can all celebrate.

And that is exactly what I will be doing: anyone who is 60 this week (and anyone else who is around for that matter) is invited to join me at the Conquest Hospital reception area at 12 noon to share a piece of cake and a glass of bubbly. I look forward to meeting as many "NHS Babies" as is possible and toasting 60 years of caring for the health of our nation.

From being on its knees in the mid 90s the NHS is now in better shape with more staff and new hospitals.

There are over 80,000 more nurses and 38,000 more doctors than in 1997 and the NHS is now performing more than one million extra operations a year. Virtually no-one now waits more than 6 months for their operation, compared with waits of up to 2 years under the Tories.

I know that the above is a lot of statistics but remember behind every statistic is a life changed by having a better NHS for patients.

Contrast this with the Tory years – when the NHS was nearly destroyed.

That is not to say we can rest on our laurels. We all took part in the successful campaign to ensure A&E services remained at the Conquest. The PCT listened, Hastings has retained it's services and the Conquest remains a Hospital of which to be proud.

But I think people now want to know what we have planned for the future.

Sixty years since we founded it, Labour is improving the NHS. Our mission is to make the NHS a more personal health service, fitted to the needs of individuals and focused on preventing ill health as well as curing it.

A lot of change has occurred over the last sixty years. This means that there are new challenges for our NHS. New drugs, medical technologies and better clinical practices provide us with huge opportunities, whilst diseases like obesity and diabetes as well as an ageing population in Hastings and Rye present big challenges.

We need an NHS which is fit for modern life. We as patients should be given greater control, greater choice and a strong voice in our local services. It's no good having a great GP if you can't go there after work.

By 2009 the majority of GP surgeries will be open for at least one evening or weekend session every week, and we're building a new walk-in health clinic in the town centre to fit around the busy lives of local people.

So sixty years on, we still have free access to high-quality healthcare and people feel safe in the knowledge that if they or their family need the NHS, it is there for them. We should also take time to say thank you to the wonderful staff who look after us when we need care and attention.

One of the main reasons I wanted to be the MP for Hastings and Rye was to fight for the NHS in our area. I believe it is one of our country's greatest achievements. A service that is available to all based on need - not ability to pay.

To learn more about the NHS and take part in the Ask Alan web interview (a chance to put questions to the Health Secretary Alan Johnson) visit http://www.labour.org.uk/proud/home.

To keep up to date on what I'm doing stop by my website http://www.michaelfoster.org.uk/.

You can also receive a monthly update on my activities by sending an email to mp@1066.net with 'MPFree' in the subject line.