Employees from North East London Foundation Trust joined the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, along with around 1,500 NHS staff to celebrate 75 years of the NHS at a service at Westminster Abbey. 

Guests in the abbey paying tribute included senior government and political leaders, health leaders, as well as famous names including Mel Giedroyc and other supporters of NHS Charities Together.  

NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard gave an address. 

The Service looked back to the 75 years of the National Health Service, offered thanks to staff and volunteers, past and present, and took note of the challenges of providing daily care to patients and the future opportunities that lie ahead. 

Mandy Daisley, Kate Francis, Rhiannon Haag, Nadia Ahmed and Mohammad Soobhun were selected to attend the special event after a draw in which all Make a Difference Award Winners and Highly Recommended were entered. 

NELFT Digital Communications and Engagement Manager, Mandy Daisley, said:  

"For me, it’s the sense of pride and purpose that working for the NHS gives me every day I come to work. 

"Working in a non-clinical team, it’s sometimes hard to see how we support patients, but even small changes making it easier for people to find help, can make such a difference to someone’s life.”  

Attending the event, Involvement Representative at NELFT, Nadia Ahmed, said:

“I’m privileged to be involved in engagement work with young people, and this celebration reminds us of the power of collaboration and community engagement.  

“Let's continue amplifying voices, driving equality, and ensuring exceptional care for all in the next 75 years of the NHS."  

May Parsons, an associate chief nurse who delivered the world’s first vaccine outside of a clinical trial in December 2020, carried the George Cross into the Abbey in a procession. She was joined by 17-year-old Kyle Dean-Curtis, St John Ambulance cadet of the year, who wants to work in the NHS; and 91-year-old Enid Richmond, who was one of the first people to work in the NHS as a junior clerical worker and whose sister still volunteers in the health service. 

Prayers were read by Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay, Chief Nurse Dame Ruth May, NHS National Medical Director Professor Sir Stephen Powis, and Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Professor Suzanne Rastrick OBE and Richard Webb-Stevens, a paramedic who was first on the scene of the Westminster Bridge terror attack and who holds the Queen’s Ambulance Medal for Distinguished Service. 

Testimonies were given by Dame Elizabeth Anionwu OM, the UK’s first sickle cell nurse, academic and author; Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together, and Dr Martin English and Dr Michael Griksaitis, NHS consultants who jointly led a team who evacuated 21 Ukrainian children with cancer over to the UK from Poland in March 2022, following the Russian invasion. 

Find out more about the events taking place to mark NHS’s 75th birthday here.