Thursday 16th April

Hello, hello, hello! How are you all on this fine day? Yesterday I mentioned the army veteran who had raised over £4milliion for the NHS, well today that figure has risen to over £13million. How amazing is that!

Retired army captain Tom Moore aimed to walk the 25 metres around his garden 100 times before his 100th birthday on the 30th April. Today, with a few days to spare before his birthday, he completed his challenge. He set himself the challenge to raise money for the NHS amid the coronavirus crisis that has put immense pressure on the NHS to treat patients and save lives. Originally he had hoped to raise £1,000 but donations have flooded in from all over the world. His achievement has been praised by many and he has been called an inspiration.

Mr Moore described the support he has received as, ‘absolutely fabulous’. He has encouraged the nation to carry on and remember that things will get better. He is full of praise for the ‘brave and super doctors and nurses we have got’. Well done Captain Tom Moore - the Olive Hill community are in awe of your fantastic achievement.

Do you know what NHS stands for? National Health Service. It is the health service that everybody in the United Kingdom can use when they become poorly or injured, to help them get better. It is ‘free at the point of use’, which means people can be treated for free when they are poorly. It is paid for through taxes, which is money that UK adults pay to the government. You might be thinking that every country in the world has a national health service, but they don’t. In some countries medical care is incredibly expensive and not all citizens can afford to pay for the care they need. We are very lucky in the UK to be supported by the NHS.

The NHS includes doctors, nurses, surgeons, ambulance drivers, opticians, paramedics, midwifes, psychologists and all sorts of other people whose job it is to make sure people stay healthy. Perhaps you would like to work for the NHS when you are older.

Before the NHS, people would usually have to pay to get help if they got ill. The NHS started in 1948, as the government believed that everyone should be able to get healthcare - no matter how much or little money they had.

You will all have experienced at least some elements of the NHS. You were probably born in an NHS hospital, you are likely to have visited an NHS doctor, I hope you’ve you been to the dentist and you may have been to the optician for an eye-test - these are just a few examples of care that is provided by the NHS.

My great-uncle is currently in hospital, he had a fall, and the doctors and nurses are doing a fantastic job of looking after him. He also told me that the food is really good! Miss Best has had a few visits to the hospital recently - she is going to have her baby really soon and she has diabetes, so they have to keep a close check on her health. All of the healthcare professionals have been amazing and really supported Miss Best. Miss Jenkins is also expecting a baby (she has given me permission to tell you all), she has been a bit worried about visiting a hospital with lots of people, so the wonderful NHS has arranged for her to have phone appointments wherever possible. Mr Brady has been well looked after on many occasions, usually because of a football-related injury! Mrs Marriott has asthma and she says she couldn’t have asked for better care from her doctor’s surgery - they have made sure she has adequate supplies of her inhalers and chatted through all of her concerns. Mrs White has called 111 and the advice she has been given has been really good and they’ve called her back. When Mrs Davies broke her ankle the staff at the hospital were all really kind. Mrs Dudley’s life was saved by the NHS, not only did the staff quickly identify what the problem was, they also sat by her bed throughout the night to check that she was ok. These are just a few stories about the wonderful care provided by the NHS. I am sure your grown-ups will have more stories to tell you, or perhaps you have your own story to tell.

I couldn’t write this post without a massive shout out to my sister (she is a nurse) and all of the members of our school community who work for the NHS. Thank you from us all, we will be out clapping for you and other key workers tonight.

Stay safe you lovely lot!