NHS leaders go ‘Back to the Floor’ to celebrate NHS 75th anniversary

Healthcare senior leaders across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin will be donning their uniforms and going ‘back to the floor’, carrying out their original NHS roles for the day, to mark the NHS 75^th anniversary.

During the anniversary week (w/c 3 July), executives and directors from Shropshire Community Health Trust (ShropCom) and NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (NHS STW) will be going back to the roles that kickstarted their NHS careers.

The special anniversary shifts will take place from Monday 3 to Friday 7 July and will see healthcare leaders supporting staff and assisting with the delivery of services to patients across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Patricia Davies, Chief Executive at ShropCom, started her NHS career as a District Nurse and is still a practising nurse alongside her role as Chief Executive. To mark the anniversary, she will be completing a shift with the North Telford District Nursing Team.

Patricia Davies, Chief Executive, ShropCom says: “I started my career as a District Nurse, following in the footsteps of my mother, and it has been a real honour to be able to carry out clinical shifts alongside my role as Chief Exec.

“75 years of the NHS is an important milestone, and we want to come together with our partners to mark it by going back to the floor to work alongside some of the amazing teams within our Trusts. It is an initiative that we as an exec team are looking to do more of in the coming months.”

Simon Whitehouse, Chief Executive at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, and Claire Horsfield, Director of Operations at ShropCom, are both qualified Physiotherapists and will be joining forces on Wednesday 5 July, the official NHS anniversary, to deliver a clinic at Bridgnorth Community Hospital.

Simon will then be returning to his roots, carrying out a shift at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH), where he first undertook his physiotherapist training. Joining him from NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and going ‘back to the floor’ will be Claire Parker, former community pharmacist, who will spend Thursday at Conway Pharmacy in Shrewsbury with the pharmacy team, and Vanessa Whatley, Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) Nurse, who will spend Friday at RJAH with the IPC team.

Simon Whitehouse, Chief Executive at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said: “I am delighted to be taking park in this initiative and to return to my roots as part of the physio teams for the day, both at Bridgnorth Community Hospital and at RJAH. It will be a privilege to work alongside colleagues once again and to celebrate, with them, 75 years of our National Health Service.

“By going back to where I completed my physiotherapy studies and a number of my clinical placements, I will be reflecting on my own personal relationship with the NHS and how integral it has been within my own life. It will also be a chance for me to celebrate and thank the incredible teams who show such unwaveringly dedication and compassion to our patients across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

“It will be important for us to look back and acknowledge the decades of service, the successes, and the challenges, and to celebrate this landmark moment. It is even more timely with the recent publication of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan – never has the focus on our workforce been more important.”

Both clinical and non-clinical executives and senior leaders will be taking part in ‘Back to the Floor’ activity during the anniversary week to shine a light on the NHS and the hard-working NHS teams across the county.