On Sunday, 5 July the NHS will celebrate its 72nd Anniversary and this year the NHS is focussing the celebration on regular people who have shown the spirit of the NHS by caring for others during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NHS will be taking the opportunity on its birthday to applaud everyone that has shown the spirit of the NHS by caring for others, improving the lives of people around them and putting others first. That includes community groups, businesses and individuals who have all done their bit.
Blackpool teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will mark the occasion by lighting up the main entrance of its Blackpool Victoria Hospital site blue over the weekend and seeing staff join in the national applause for the NHS at 5pm on Sunday across its sites.
Kevin McGee, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: “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 I would really encourage as many people as to mark the event where possible – following social distancing advice of course.’’
Dr Adam Janjua, Chair of the NHS Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group said: “One thing that has really been shown during the pandemic is that the spirit of the NHS is in all of us.
“The NHS has been overwhelmed by the appreciation and support it has received in the last few months but we can’t take all the credit. Armies of volunteers have helped with shopping or checking on people. Neighbours have supported people around them and children have written to strangers in care homes just so they don’t feel forgotten. Without knowing it those people have displayed the very traits that make the NHS the nationally loved organisation it is.”
On the Fylde Coast the anniversary is being used as a springboard to learn from the efforts of the community in the hope of empowering them to continue beyond the pandemic.
Dr Janjua adds: “The way the community has mobilised to help and look after others is something that has touched everyone. We need to do what we can to keep this spirit alive and build on this so it can continue to benefit people for years to come.”