Five staff from Bolton NHS Foundation Trust have joined their colleagues from around the country to attend a special NHS 75 multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey.

The service on Wednesday 5 July celebrated 75 years of the NHS, and saw the Royal Highness the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh join 1,500 NHS staff.

NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard delivered an address in tribute to the millions of NHS staff, saying: “We come together today not to celebrate an idea or an institution but to thank and celebrate all those who have breathed life into it.”

Halimah Omarjee, Speech and Language Therapist at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, qualified in her field in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic and was honoured to be invited:

To be able to represent the trust at this event is an amazing opportunity.

“It was so exciting to meet people from across the country who came together to celebrate 75 years of the NHS.

Jason Rutter, Staff Nurse on C3 at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, explained why the NHS is so important to him:

No matter what is thrown our way everyone is there to support each other. Helping people and seeing the improvement to discharge is amazing and knowing that a financial burden is not coming their way for the care received, unlike other countries.

Nicola Caffrey, Corporate Business Manager at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, shared her pride to be a part of the NHS:

The thing that makes me proudest is the privilege of working with the most amazing group of colleagues, both clinical and non-clinical, and seeing the differences and improvements that we can collectively make for patients, their families and carers every day.

“It was a privilege to be in the company of such amazing colleagues from across the NHS, and it was incredible to be able to chat with those from other hospitals and community settings to listen to their stories.

Danny Corry, Mortuary Manager at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, added:

We all feel that being able to contribute in our own way to helping patients, families and carer at what can be the most worrying or stressful time is a total privilege.

“It’s the colleagues we work with that really keep us all going.

Paul Messer, Medical Photographer at the Trust, also joined the Bolton team to proudly represent the Trust on a day that marked one of the NHS’ biggest milestones.