Happy birthday NHS

With pomp and ceremony celebrations took place across the UK to mark the event, yet here we are two years on. 

The NHS has been providing free at the point of delivery health care for those in need since its creation in 1948. The NHS will have touched the lives of everyone of us. From cradle to grave, the NHS is a vital part of our journey. 

Sunday 5 July 2020 marked the 72nd anniversary of the National Health Service. We saw the prime minister thank the staff who recently helped saved his life and continue to save the lives of many others. We all joined with the nation for one last time to clap for our carers. 

I personally took a moment to reflect on the people who make the NHS what it is. Those people, without whom the NHS could not be the great institution it is. The NHS is staffed by a hugely diverse workforce of health professionals and support workers including doctors, nurses and nursing staff, allied professionals, accountants, porters and so many other essential workers. It is these people who make the difference for us all, every day.

Nurses and nursing staff are the single largest professional group in the NHS. We, the RCN, proudly represent this professional group. They have worked tirelessly, day and night, doing all they can to provide excellent care to the most vulnerable in our society, throughout this pandemic – they did so before and will continue to do so, professionally and with expertise. 

As the nation celebrates the 72nd birthday of the NHS, join me in celebrating the people, the NHS staff, who make the NHS the remarkably successful and important institution that it is.