Staff from UHNM attend a service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the NHS 75th birthday

Staff from UHNM today joined their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, senior government and political leaders, health leaders and celebrities at a service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the NHS 75th birthday.

The service, which was held at 11am on Wednesday 5 July, included an address by NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard.

Janet Hagan, Head of Nursing at Staffordshire Children’s Hospital at Royal Stoke, Filomena Flannigan, Biomedical Scientist in Blood Transfusion and Angela Johnson, sister at Royal Stoke’s  Post- Anaesthesia Care Unit were included among the 1,500 NHS staff as well as famous names in the Abbey who paid tribute to NHS colleagues.

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. May received the medal from Queen Elizabeth II, along with NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard and representatives from the other UK health services at Windsor Castle in July 2022.

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, 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.

Today Angela said: “We are all so very honoured and proud to be invited to sucjh a special service to mark the 75th birthday of the NHS. The service was lovely and we were fortunate to get a seat at the front of a row, so we had a smile off Prince Edward and Sophie.”