City’s NHS staff represented at St Paul’s service as the capital honours those who have supported Londoners during the pandemic
As the NHS marks its 73rd Birthday (5th July), London has come together to celebrate the achievements of staff, with the support of volunteers, students, communities and fellow key workers, in protecting and improving the health of the capital city over the last year.
In honour of NHS staff, a special birthday service is being held at St Paul’s Cathedral, London (Monday, 5th July) at which a number of frontline and other key staff from across London will represent their colleagues.
Dr Vin Diwakar, Medical Director for the NHS in London said:
“This year’s anniversary follows a uniquely challenging year, and I give my thanks to all London’s NHS staff whose compassion and dedication has shone more so than ever before.
“London’s NHS staff, supported by our capital’s wider family – volunteers and students to fellow key workers including partner and community groups – rose to the challenges presented by the pandemic to care for Londoners while successfully delivering the fastest ever NHS vaccination programme and protect our city from the coronavirus.
“The NHS Birthday is the perfect opportunity to reflect and thank all who protect and improve the health of all in our capital city.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
“As we mark 73 years since the birth of our National Health Service, I want to thank all of our brave and dedicated health and care staff for everything they do.
“In light of the events over the past 18 months, it is more important than ever that we take the time to show our appreciation for their fantastic work. They’ve been absolutely incredible, going above and beyond every day to protect and care for us, and delivering millions of life-saving COVID vaccines to Londoners.
“They are truly the best of us, and on behalf of all Londoners I want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Among NHS staff invited to the special St Paul’s Cathedral event will be Dr Farzana Hussain, 48, GP in Newham, London, who rang round her patients to drive vaccine uptake; Shaykh Ahmad Faruq Siddiqi, Chaplain, The Royal London Hospital who facilitated virtual farewells and prayers for dying during the peak of the pandemic, and Dr Roopak Khara, 35, psychiatrist, West London NHS Trust, who set up the first ward for coronavirus patients with acute mental illness.
Also attending the event will be Lyn Wheeler, 82 from Bromley, an active member of NHS patient groups and now a Covid vaccination centre volunteer, was one of the first in London, outside of clinical trial, to receive the Pfizer vaccine back on 8th December at Guy’s Hospital.
Lyn said:
“As one of the very first people to be vaccinated in London, this NHS Birthday has given me the opportunity to reflect on what the NHS means to me. The brilliant staff from London’s NHS have not only given me, and now my family and friends, protection from coronavirus, but have supported me since I was 9 years old.
“I now hope that my role as a vaccination centre volunteer can show my appreciation for the dedication that NHS staff have displayed this last year and that I may be able to support my fellow Londoners in staying safe and well.
“Thanks to the NHS I feel brighter and there is hope one day we will all be back to normal”.
Hospitals, and other NHS healthcare facilities across London will be celebrating the anniversary with staff events such as the NHS Big Tea, staff talent shows and performances. Imperial College Healthcare will be hosting ‘Gratitude Festival’ throughout the week, to honour and celebrate the commitment and dedication its staff have shown throughout the pandemic.
As celebrations commence across the capital and the health service turns 73, England’s top clinicians have urged people across the country to consider joining them, inspired by the excellence of NHS staff over the last eighteen months to consider joining them. Chief Nursing Officer Ruth May, NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis and Suzanne Rastrick, the NHS’s Chief Allied Health Professions Officer, have written an open letter urging young people preparing for the world of work and others contemplating a career change to think about joining the “biggest care team in the world”.
The call comes on the back of a record breaking 18 months, in which the higher profile of NHS staff over the last year led to almost 200,000 people joining, a 6.8% rise from the year before.
The NHS has also seen a jump in interest for degrees related to healthcare, with medical applications up by a fifth from 23,720 to 28,690.
Meanwhile, applications for nursing degrees increased by almost a third to 60,130 for the 2021/22 academic year.
Beyond more traditional positions such as doctors and nurses, the NHS offers over 350 different types of roles including ambulance call handler, healthcare records staff or a newborn hearing screener.