As NHS turns 75, nurses are among those honoured at Westminster Abbey
Posted 05 July 2023 - 13:41
Ceremony marking anniversary is attended by royalty and features nurse carrying the George Cross awarded to NHS staff
Nurses and other healthcare staff were celebrated at a special ceremony today to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS.
The ceremony was held in Westminster Abbey to pay tribute to NHS staff and patients, with nurses playing a key role in the proceedings.
Some 1,500 health service staff and supporters filled the abbey to celebrate the NHS, alongside the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – Prince Edward and Sophie.
George Cross honoured health service staff for their work, especially during the pandemic
Nurse May Parsons, who delivered the first COVID-19 vaccination, carried the NHS’s George Cross into the abbey with Kyle Dean-Curtis, St John Ambulance cadet of the year, and 91-year-old Enid Richmond, who was one of the first people to work in the NHS as a member of the junior clerical staff.
The George Cross is processed to the High Altar by nurse May Parsons; Kyle Dean-Curtis, St John Ambulance cadet of the year; and Enid Richmond, who worked for the NHS at the time it was launched.
— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) July 5, 2023
Pictured before the service. #NHS75 pic.twitter.com/5hGzn2qeIV
The medal was awarded to the health service for the work staff did during the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout its history by the late Queen Elizabeth. Ms Parsons received the medal on behalf of the NHS when it was awarded.
'It was one of the greatest honours of my life to be one of those who received the George Cross from her majesty Queen Elizabeth last year and it will be another enormous privilege and "pinch me" moment to carry the Cross as part of the procession into Westminster Abbey,' she said.
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, who founded the UK’s first nurse-led sickle cell and thalassaemia screening and counselling centre, said she was honoured to give a testimony on behalf of NHS staff.
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu OM, gives a Testimony:
— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) July 5, 2023
‘It is an honour to be able to represent the millions of our colleagues who have served the NHS since the launch in 1948, today’s workforce and all of those who are in training to be the workforce of the future. Thank you!’#NHS75 pic.twitter.com/aULSqVvKdq
RCN Nursing Award winner Susie Lagrata was among those attending. Ms Lagrata won the innovations in your specialty category at last year’s RCN Nursing Awards for her work in raising awareness of primary headache disorders.
Ms Lagrata said she was ‘privileged, honoured and humbled’ to represent nursing at the ceremony. ‘The ceremony was very poignant and the atmosphere, if I can describe it in one word, is hope. Being in the sea of selfless NHS staff and volunteers there made me feel hopeful,’ she told Nursing Standard.
A day that is all about the people of the NHS
‘Everybody knows what nurses have been through in the last months with the fight for fair pay and I think having nurses there from all walks of life and backgrounds it means a lot. Nurses are one of the backbones our healthcare system, so I felt it’s quite right we are represented well there.
‘Today is all about the people of the NHS and I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate them and acknowledge the invaluable contribution of all the NHS staff and volunteers in making the NHS happen and allowing it to be here still.’
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen, who represented the college at the ceremony, said: ‘All of those that have worked in the NHS, and those who continue to do so, should be enormously proud of the contribution they have made to the millions of people that have called on their care.
‘It remains a privilege to represent the nursing profession, the only one in the NHS 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are there at the start of life and at the end of life, and the NHS has survived because of the skill and dedication of nursing staff.’
Sharing the joy and honour of the ceremony
Nurses shared their joy and honour at being invited to the ceremony on social media.
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