Sir Simon Stevens today hailed the “skill and compassion and the fortitude” of health service staff as the NHS was awarded the George Cross for 73 years dedicated service and the response to COVID by Her Majesty the Queen. Welcoming the “unprecedented” honour, bestowed collectively for only the third time, Sir Simon said that the […]

The Wembley arch, Liverpool’s Liver building, Salisbury Cathedral and vaccination centres across England are among dozens of sites set to be lit up blue today, to mark the anniversary of the founding of the NHS and the huge contribution of health service staff during the coronavirus pandemic. The move comes as events are held across […]

NHS staff who were on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19 will be at the heart of a special service of commemoration and thanksgiving to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on Monday 5 July, the anniversary of the health service’s foundation.  Dr Ashley Price, a member of the team who treated the very […]

The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history, has delivered life-saving jabs to half of all adults in England aged under 30. More than 4.2 million people aged 18 to 29 have received a jab just three weeks after the programme was opened to those in their twenties. The new figures come as […]

The NHS COVID-19 Vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history, today launched a new online service that lets people find their nearest walk-in centre by simply entering their postcode. The NHS has opened hundreds of sites where anyone aged 18 or over can turn up to get vaccinated without an appointment over the weekend […]

Hundreds of walk-in NHS COVID-19 vaccination sites will be operating this weekend with any adult able to turn up and ‘grab a jab’. Anyone aged 18 or over can turn up at the sites, which include football stadiums, theatres, supermarket car parks and shopping centres, and get vaccinated without needing to book in advance. The […]

Children and young people will benefit from a cash injection to mental health services which includes addressing the increasing demand for the treatment of eating disorders. An extra £40 million has been allocated to address the COVID impact on children and young people’s mental health and enhance services across the country. One way the additional […]

More than one million jab appointments were booked since the NHS vaccination programme opened for every adult in England. People rushed to book 1,008,472 appointments in just two days – an average of more than 21,000 every hour, or six every second – on Friday and Saturday. The figure does not include appointments made through […]

More than 700,000 life-saving COVID jabs were booked on the day that the NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history, was opened up to people aged 18 to 20. People rushed to make 721,469 appointments through the national booking service on Friday, more than 30,000 an hour or more than eight every second. […]

NHS England’s lead for the NHS vaccination programme, Dr Emily Lawson, said: “Thanks to the non-stop efforts of NHS staff and volunteers, four in five adults have now received their first vaccine and almost three in four have had both doses, a remarkable achievement in just over six months. “The biggest vaccination drive in history, […]