Happy Birthday… NHS!
The first baby to be born into the NHS, on the 5th July 1948, was Aneira Thomas, in a small cottage hospital, in Wales.
There begins the golden thread that runs through health care, to this day.
Aneira was born one minute after midnight. In her book, the mother, Edna Thomas, tells us she was determined her baby would be the first NHS baby. At three minutes to midnight, when the babies head was visible the doctor said, ‘Edna, you need to wait, don’t push…’
When the clock ticked over to a minute past midnight, the first NHS baby safely arrived.
It had been Edna’s idea to wait. It was the doctor’s idea to name the child after the man who had made it possible for the birth to be free, safe and for the child to live her entire life in the assurance of free care.
Aneurin Bevan.
As someone who was born before the NHS I can attest to the huge weight its arrival took off the shoulders of working people. My early years were made safe, despite a serious illness, a big accident and all the happenstance that comes the way of a working class kid… thanks to the district nurse, the family doctor and A&E.
In the 75th year, battered and bruised - it’s still here. So am I!
The NHS has survived the damage of ten years austerity funding, a pandemic and now industrial action.
It’s worth remembering, despite it all… right now the NHS is treating more people than at any time in its history.
There is a mountain to climb but the important thing is, the NHS and its magnificent people are here to do it and they will.
Today is a day for celebrating the greatest political decision of a generation. A public service that is resilient beyond resilient.
That resilience, that ability to recover, to be flexible, adapt, that toughness doesn’t come about by magic. It comes every day when people just like you arrive for a shift.
The NHS is our-NHS and it is our people that make it what it is. It is not an abstract thought. It is the sum total of hard work, commitment and at the Academy, we know, sharing the good things we do.
If you can celebrate today, you should. Where ever you work there will be a back that needs patting and a well-done that needs to be said. Don’t miss the opportunity.
Today of all days… it’s OK to be proud of what you do.