Thanking the NHS Together

BRITONS are being encouraged to make the NHS’ birthday next month “the biggest thank you in our history”.

The newly founded Together coalition is working with the NHS to help build a “national moment”, when the UK can thank those who have provided support during the Covid-19 crisis.

In a joint letter published on Wednesday (10), several prominent individuals voiced their support for making July 5 a day to bring people “together and connect with neighbours and their communities”.

People are also being encouraged to thank those who have helped throughout the pandemic.

Among those supporting the initiative are NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens; the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby; Annemarie Plas, founder of ‘Clap for Carers’; Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Kwame Kwei Armah, director of London’s Young Vic theatre.

There will a minute’s silence on the evening of July 4 when people will be asked to light a candle in their windows in remembrance of all who have died during this time. On July 5, people will be asked to take part in one last country-wide clap of thanks.

Stevens said: “As we mark the NHS’s birthday, we want to say a huge thank you on behalf of the whole NHS to all those who have played their part in tackling this horrible coronavirus pandemic.”

New polling for the Together campaign has shown the country feels more connected than it did prior to the crisis. Some six in 10 people said the public’s response to the pandemic “has shown the unity of society more than its divides”. Just 15 per cent disagreed.