Celebrating the NHS’s 72nd birthday during one of our most challenging times
This Sunday 5 July we are celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the National Health Service; it will be especially poignant given the challenging environment we have all been working in over the past few months to respond to the Covid-19 global pandemic.
You may have seen in the news that the NHS is working with the Together Coalition - an umbrella group of organisations bringing communities together headed up by Brendan Cox - to create a national moment of remembrance which we will be joining to say a huge thank to everyone who has supported us through this period.
- Our staff and volunteers have recorded special handwritten and recorded video messages in over 25 different languages, which reflect the diversity of our staff and community - these will be shared on social media and in our hospital this weekend.
- We will be taking part in the national ‘light up blue’ movement on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July by lighting up the front of our hospital building in blue at the same time as national landmarks.
- Our choir will also be doing a special birthday performance on Monday 6 July at 12.30pm at the front of the hospital building next to our Wellspring restaurant, performing various songs including of course ‘Happy Birthday.’
Rising to the challenge
Our Trust and others across the NHS have risen to the challenges posed by the pandemic in ways never done before to ensure we continue to provide the best care possible for patients. These include delivering services differently, undertaking rapid transformation in key areas to keep people safe, recruiting scores of new volunteers and new members of staff, including those returning to the NHS, sending some of our own staff to the new Nightingale Hospital and recruiting a record number of patients to assist with Covid-19 studies. Everyone at North Mid should be proud of our contribution.
We could not have achieved this without everyone working together, including our staff, volunteers and the support of our local community. This includes:
- Airline crew who came on board as part of Project Wingman to support the wellbeing of our staff
- Local businesses who donated meals and other supplies to our staff and volunteers
- Local partners such as Tottenham Hotspur Football Club who opened their stadium for our women’s outpatients services and the charity Hope for Tomorrow who provided0 two mobile chemotherapy (chemo) buses.
- People within our community who shared messages of hope, inspiration and thanks -– all helping to boost our morale and wellbeing.
This Sunday 5 July is about saying thank you to them and everybody else who provided support, including our local councils, key workers, bus drivers, care workers and shop workers and people in our community. It’s impossible to count the number of individuals and groups who helped and who we still need to continue helping, including by keeping safe, and following guidance to reduce the spread of infection.
A moment of remembrance
As we say thank you, it is important we do not forget the human toll of Covid-19 – the anniversary is also an opportunity to remember and reflect on the lives of those we have lost to this devastating virus; We commit to remembering and honouring those who died, and to support their friends and family on an on-going basis.
This biggest and final clap for carers is also a thank you to you too. Everyone at North Mid has worked so hard to ensure our Trust safely managed all the additional pressures we faced. We want to use this opportunity to thank you all once again for all that you have done and continue to do. Thank you.