A photo showing a grateful patient having a much-needed bedside haircut and shave at the Royal Free Hospital has gone on show at Westminster Abbey after winning a national competition to mark 75 years of the NHS.

But the shot, called 'Paul and Flo', was taken by the Royal Free Charity’s Jenny Brodie and beat hundreds of entries from all over the country.

The image captures the interaction between patient Paul Lederman and freelance hairdresser Flo Blackett, who is paid by the charity to visit patients in the wards.

“I hadn’t been aware that there was such a service until Flo came on the ward,” Paul said. “I had been in hospital for a while, so it had been about two months since my last haircut and I hadn’t shaved.

"It was very nicely done and it felt very refreshing.”

Many older patients in hospital for several weeks may be unable to groom themselves. Flo visits each week to cut and wash and file nails, sometimes helping patients with more complex needs. It helps them “feel themselves again and have pride in their appearance”, she says.

Flo was chuffed about being in the picture that won the competition and going on show at the NHS 75th anniversary service at Westminster.

The Hampstead charity’s marketing manager Jenny Brodie took it while shadowing Flo to show the services it provides in the hospital.

“I didn’t have a particular shot in mind,” Jenny revealed. “I just wanted to capture an authentic interaction between Flo and the patients and stayed in the background documenting what was going on.

“The image captures something special that we often hear from patients. For a brief time, they are not defined by their illness or condition, but are simply themselves for those few moments.”

Competition judges included Mailonline columnist and GP Ellie Cannon, journalist Victoria Macdonald, photographer Lewis Khan, NHS chief nursing officer Dame Ruth May and Fujifilm’s Theo Georghiades.

Jenny’s ‘Paul and Flo’ was one of 75 shortlisted photos for the NHS 75th anniversary service at Westminster Abbey on July 5, before going on public show at Fujifilm House of Photography in Covent Garden until the end of August.