THIS weekend the NHS will celebrate its 72nd birthday and I want to encourage everyone to play their part in marking the event.
The last six months have arguably been the most challenging period in the history of the NHS and the COVID pandemic has put enormous pressure on everyone who works in the organisation.
As always the response has been magnificent and I am pretty sure that Nye Bevan, who founded the NHS all those years ago, would have been very proud of the way everyone has come together.
Everyone has stepped up superbly and responded to the unprecedented challenges to keep services going magnificently A couple of years ago we quite rightly held major celebrations to mark the NHS’s 70th birthday which were a fitting testament to what is one of the world’s best known organisations.
The plans may not have been as well publicised this year with the focus being very much on COVID but this weekend everybody is being urged to take part in what has been labelled an “epic pause for applause’’ at 5pm on Sunday the 5th July and I would really encourage all staff to mark the event where possible – following social distancing advice of course.
For us it is the chance for NHS workers to say a big thank you to everybody who has helped it continue doing its job in the face of the biggest health challenge it has ever faced.
If you are working on Sunday please consider how you can mark the event in your area.
If you are working over the weekend you will also see that the main entrance is to be illuminated blue to mark the occasion which I’m sure will be a terrific sight.
