Boris Johnson meets NHS heroes as one final clap is held for health workers on NHS’ 72nd birthday
One final clap: Boris Johnson meets NHS heroes and public buildings are lit up for last round of applause for health workers on the NHS’ 72nd birthday
- The clap, which took place at 5pm tonight, was a continuation from the success of the weekly Clap for Carers
- It celebrates the 75th anniversary of NHS and acts as a thank you to its staff working through the pandemic
- To mark the occasion prime minister Boris Johnson is meeting with NHS workers in the Number 10 garden
- It is hoped the applause will become an annual tradition on the NHS’ anniversary, July 5
By Milly Vincent For Mailonline
Published: 12:00 EDT, 5 July 2020 | Updated: 13:14 EDT, 5 July 2020
Applause for the NHS can be heard once more this evening as the nation steps out onto it’s doorsteps to mark the health service’s 72nd anniversary.
The clap, which took place at 5pm this evening, was a continuation from the success of the weekly Clap for Carers as a way to thank NHS staff for their tireless efforts throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
It is hoped the applause will become an annual tradition on the NHS’ anniversary, July 5.
To mark the occasion prime minister Boris Johnson is meeting with NHS workers in the Number 10 garden this afternoon, while public buildings including the Royal Albert Hall, Blackpool Tower and the Shard have been lit up blue in tribute to the health service.
Mr Johnson was also joined outside Downing Street by Annemarie Plas at 5pm, the founder of the Clap for Carers event.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Friday, Mr Johnson urged the public to clap for ‘those who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to help the nation get through this pandemic’.
It comes as Kate Garraway revealed that her husband Derek Draper has woken from his coma.
Good Morning Britain star Kate, 53, has told Hello! Magazine that her beloved spouse, 52, has finally opened his eyes after being in a coma for 13 weeks amid his battle with coronavirus.
As part of the NHS birthday celebrations NHS staff outside Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, join in the pause for applause
Members of staff of the Leeds General Infirmary gesture to their colleagues from the street as they all participate in a national NHS celebration clap
Members of the emergency services and staff of the Leeds General Infirmary participate in a national NHS celebration clap outside the hospital in Leeds today, to mark its 72nd anniversary
It is hoped the applause will become an annual tradition on the NHS’ anniversary, July 5, with Britons taking to their doorsteps to pay tribute
Members of the emergency services and staff of the Leeds General Infirmary participate in this evening’s clap to celebrate the NHS
As part of the NHS birthday celebrations, Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and Annemarie Plas, founder of Clap For Our Carers, outside 10 Downing Street, London, join in the pause for applause to salute the NHS’s 72nd birthday
Boris Johnson is meeting with NHS workers in the Number 10 garden this afternoon to mark the NHS’s 72nd birthday today
Boris Johnson outside 10 Downing Street, London, joins in the pause for applause to salute the NHS 72nd birthday today
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer take part in the final Clap For Carers outside their home in north London
Zara Clarke, five, from Southend during the clap for the NHS to celebrate the National Health Service’s 72nd Anniversary at Southend University Hospital Essex
Members of the public applaud outside Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for the 72nd anniversary of the creation of the health service
People across the UK were encouraged to clap for the NHS on Sunday afternoon to mark its 72nd anniversary and to thank staff for their work in tackling the coronavirus pandemic
Members of the public gather together to celebrate the 72nd Anniversary of the founding of the NHS in Tredegar, Wales
Members of the public gathered outside Chelsea and Westminster Hospital this evening for a final clap for carers event
Health workers applaud outside St Thomas’ Hospital on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the NHS this evening
This year’s celebration is particularly poignant given the challenging conditions NHS staff have had to work under over the past four months amid the coronavirus outbrea
Boris Johnson urged Britons to take to their doorsteps this evening to celebrate the NHS and pay tribute to its staff
NHS staff outside the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, join in the pause for applause to salute the NHS 72nd birthday
Members of staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital participate in a national NHS celebration clap outside the hospital in London
Clap of Claps for the NHS to celebrate their 72nd anniversary at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital this evening
The GMB star was regularly seen joining in with the clap during her husband’s virus battle.
Tonight, Britons took to their doorsteps to clap again and pay tribute to NHS workers amid the pandemic.
Both Sir Kier Starmer and Charles also paid tribute to the NHS in separate messages on Sunday ahead of the clap.
Charles said: ‘The current pandemic means that the NHS – and the entire country – has been through the most testing time in the service’s history.
‘Our remarkably selfless nurses, doctors, paramedics and countless other staff have made costly sacrifices to provide treatment for more than a hundred thousand patients with coronavirus and thousands more who needed other care.
‘And, in tribute to them, we have come together as a nation to thank them for their skill, professionalism and dedication.’
Meanwhile, Sir Keir said the health service had a personal resonance for him as his late mother was a nurse and later relied on the NHS as she became ill.
He said: ‘Many, many times she got gravely ill and it was the NHS that she turned to, and I remember as a boy, a teenager, being in high dependency units, in intensive care units, with my mum, watching nurses and other support staff keep my mum alive.
‘They did that on more than one occasion – it’s etched in my memory. For them, it was just the day job. They were doing that every day.
‘So, it’s very personal for me and I’m very grateful to the NHS and my mum was very grateful, she loved the NHS through the many decades that she absolutely depended on them.’
Public buildings including the Royal Albert Hall, Blackpool Tower and the Shard have been lit up blue in tribute to the health service
Staff at University Hospital of North Tees Hospital in Teesside join in the clap this afternoon to celebrate the 72nd birthday of the NHS
Both Sir Kier Starmer and Prince Charles paid tribute to the NHS in separate messages on Sunday, ahead of the evening’s clap
Members of staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital participate in a national NHS appreciation clap this evening
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Friday, Mr Johnson urged the public to clap for ‘those who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to help the nation get through this pandemic’
The clap, which took place at 5pm this evening, was a continuation from the success of the weekly Clap for Carers as a way to thank NHS staff
People arriving at 10 Downing Street, London, this afternoon to attend a reception as part of the NHS birthday celebration
A candle is lit and placed on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in central London on July 4, 2020 in honour of the tens of thousands of people who have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK as the building itself is lit up blue as a tribute to NHS workers and to mark the 72nd anniversary of the NHS
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among those due to take part in country-wide event, with a candle lit at his official residence at 9pm on Saturday, ahead of the National Health Service’s 72nd anniversary. Pictures showed a Downing Street worker bringing an pre-lit candle outside
As part of the NHS birthday celebrations The London Eye is illuminated blue on Saturday evening, July 4
On Saturday, people observed a minute’s silent and lit candles in remembrance of those who have died during the coronavirus pandemic.
The nationwide clap has been organised following a letter from the Together coalition, in which influential figures including NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby voiced their support for making July 5 an official day of commemoration.
Sir Simon said he hoped the public will use the anniversary as an opportunity to ‘say a heartfelt thank you’ to hospital staff.
