Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
A message from Amanda Sullivan, Chief Executive of NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
The National Health Service is about to celebrate a very big milestone as 5 July 2023 marks 75 years of the service being made available. Treating over a million people a day in England, the NHS touches all our lives. When it was founded in 1948, the NHS was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery.
For many, the NHS is what makes them most proud to be British. This is because, since 1948, the NHS has always evolved and adapted to meet the needs of each successive generation. From Britain’s first heart transplant in 1958, to Europe’s first liver transplant in 1968. From the world’s first CT scan on a patient in 1971, revolutionising the way doctors examine the body, to the world’s first test-tube baby born in 1978.
The 75th anniversary is the perfect time to look back and reflect on what has been achieved but it is also a chance to look forward and build on this work, and over the last few months that is exactly what we have been doing. We are developing a local NHS Joint Forward Plan which will set out how NHS core services will be recovered and made sustainable following the pandemic. Our aim is to work with our healthcare partners to follow a joint ambition to allow every person in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to enjoy their best possible health and wellbeing.
I want to take this opportunity to thank our incredible NHS teams of staff and volunteers who work tirelessly with passion and resilience through the good and the bad. Their relentless efforts embody the true spirit of the NHS, and I am proud to be able to say I work alongside such talent and compassion. Finally, I also want to thank you, the public, for continuing to support your local NHS – we will always be here for you, your family, and loved ones in times of need.
There are a wide range of ways for you to get involved with the NHS’s 75th birthday celebrations, from attending events in your local area, like your local park run, getting involved in your local NHS charity or supporting the work of the NHS by giving blood or joining the Organ Donor Register.
Find out more about the 75th anniversary of the NHS and how you can get involved at www.england.nhs.uk/nhsbirthday
