Welcoming the “unprecedented” honour, bestowed collectively for only the third time, Sir Simon said that the “dark times” of the coronavirus pandemic had brought out “the best” in health and care staff.
And the NHS chief paid tribute to all those in the NHS and beyond who had played their part in responding to the “greatest challenge this country has faced since the Second World War”.
“This unprecedented award rightly recognises the skill and compassion and the fortitude of staff right across the National Health Service – the nurses, the paramedics, the doctors, the cleaners, the therapists, the entire team– who under the most demanding of circumstances have responded to the worst pandemic in a century and the greatest challenge this country has faced since the Second World War.
“In the face of adversity we have seen extraordinary team work, not just across the NHS but involving hundreds of thousands of volunteers, millions of carers, key workers and the British public who have played an indispensable role in helping the health service to look after many hundreds of thousands of seriously ill patients with coronavirus.
