NHS Frontline Heroes

Staff in ICU at Warrington Hospital (Image courtesy of Warrington General Hospital)

The NHS was born in 1948, with the founding principles being that services should be universal and free at the point of delivery, a health service based on clinical need, not ability to pay. Over the past 6 months, the NHS has had to deal with demands and challenges that have far outstretched anything that any of us could have imagined. Both the organisation as a whole and the individuals who make it up, have battled the COVID 19 pandemic with resilience, determination, and never-ending compassion.

This year, due to COVID 19 we have seen tens of thousands of new staff being recruited back into the service, and an army of volunteers mobilised. New facilities designed to treat COVID 19 patients were built including the Nightingale Hospital in London.

Many people feared at the start of the pandemic that the NHS would not be able to cope with the demands on its services, but it has coped, and this is certainly thanks to the dedication and skills of the people that make this organisation.

Health professionals currently working in the NHS during the last 6 months have found it incredibly tough but feel that the public now have a renewed respect for the service and its staff. The national support shown to NHS Key Workers has certainly been appreciated and the greatest gift that can be given to the NHS is to follow the Government’s Guidelines making it a safer place for everyone.

Patient stepping down from ICU at Warrington General Hospital during the COVID 19 pandemic (Image courtesy of Warrington General Hospital)