CLAP FOR THE NHS
To mark the NHS’s creation, landmarks will be lit and people will be asked to join ‘the biggest thank-you clap’
These two flowerbeds in the Memorial Gardens in front of Buckingham Palace were specially created as a tribute to the 72nd anniversary of the health service. The letters NHS are made up of 1,500 Begonia semperflorens – known as Heaven White.
FOR MORE than seven decades, it has been there when the nation has needed it most – a shining example of excellence in healthcare and revered around the world.
The NHS’s importance has never been felt more keenly than in recent months, when some 100,000 people needed specialist hospital treatment as Covid-19 ravaged their bodies.
On Sunday, the nation will mark the 72nd birthday of the NHS and celebrate the legacy which still remains true to the founding principles of Aneurin Bevan, inset – of providing a service that is available to all in their time of need.
At 5pm, the country is being asked to come together to applaud, in one last ‘biggest thank-you clap’, the commitment, courage and sacrifice shown by so many during what has been the most challenging year in the
NHS’s history – with staff working around the clock to tackle coronavirus.
Ahead of the anniversary, the medieval city walls of York, Knaresborough Castle and Wakefield Town Hall’s clock tower will be among the landmarks across the nation which will illuminated in blue tomorrow evening.
Other famous buildings including Blackpool Tower and the Royal Albert Hall, The Shard and Wembley Arch, all in London, will also be illuminated.
The health service itself is using the anniversary as a chance to reflect on that challenge, and the extraordinary achievements, of recent months. The regional chief nurse in the North for NHS England and NHS Improvement, Margaret Kitching, said: “During the last few months, the NHS has been through the greatest test in its lifetime, and we will continue to deal with the many challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
In Yorkshire, NHS staff have adapted to meet the pressures faced during the pandemic.
For example at Bradford Royal
Infirmary, a ‘mini hospital’ was set up to treat patients in need of urgent procedures – including cancer surgery – in a specially protected environment. The ward also had its own pharmacy and physio support, as well as a dedicated enhanced recovery nurse, intensive care unit support and two high dependency beds.
At the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, the mental health team worked with primary care colleagues to build an isolation ward at the Humber Centre in Willerby, Hull, for patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 and for those showing symptoms.
In Barnsley, community teams made more than 500 home visits to vulnerable patients at home and 10,500 telephone calls.
While in Leeds, specialist nurse Sam Oakes and the mortuary team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust provided knitted hearts to bring some comfort to bereaved families.
Virtual visiting in Doncaster kept people at home in touch with their loved ones.