Dear organisations of Birmingham and Solihull,
It’s remarkable to think that when the NHS was founded in 1948 it was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery.
Now, almost 75 years on, the NHS treats over a million people a day in England and it is a service that touches all of our lives.
The NHS has delivered huge medical advances, including the world’s first liver, heart and lung transplant in 1987, pioneering new treatments, such as bionic eyes and, in more recent times, the world’s first rapid whole genome sequencing service for seriously ill babies and children.
On 5 July, we will be marking the NHS’s 75th anniversary, and we’re supporting NHS England by calling on businesses and organisations across Birmingham and Solihull to ‘light up’ as many buildings, historic monuments and other high profile sites in vibrant NHS blue on 5 July.
For the NHS’s anniversary several years ago, more than 70 landmarks around the country lit up blue, including Wembley Arch, Liverpool’s Liver building, Blackpool Illuminations Arches, Waterloo Station Clock, Nottingham Castle, the London Eye along with a host of civic centres, hospitals and sports stadiums. It would be wonderful to see the same strength of support once more, while people are encouraged to take photos and share them via social media using the hashtags: #NHS75 and #LightUpBlue.
We are happy to confirm that the University of Birmingham’s famous Old Joe clock tower has already confirmed it will be lighting up blue for the day.
If you own or run a building or site and want to join in, please email us at communications.bsolicb@nhs.net.
Yours kindly,
Professor Patrick Vernon
Interim Chair and Non-executive Director for Inequalities
NHS Birmingham and Solihull