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Publish date: 14 July 2026
To mark the NHS’s 78th birthday, two colleagues from Isle of Wight NHS Trust (IWT) and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (PHU) were invited to No. 10 Downing Street, to represent their organisations and celebrate the people who make the NHS what it is.
Megan Thorne, Sister in the Coronary Care Unit at IWT and Dr Sarah Russell, Nurse Consultant and Trust Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care at PHU, attended the celebration which brought together staff from across the country, to recognise contributions of NHS teams, and reflect on the health service’s history and future.
Dr Sarah Russell, from PHU, attending the NHS's 78th birthday celebrations at No. 10 Downing Street
Sister Megan Thorne, from IWT, attending the NHS's 78th birthday celebrations at No. 10 Downing Street
The event provided an opportunity for NHS colleagues to come together, with speeches from Health Secretary James Murray and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who shared their personal connections to the NHS and thanked staff for their continued commitment and compassion.
Megan reflected on the pride she felt in representing her colleagues from across IWT. She said: “I felt incredibly proud to represent both the Trust and my amazing colleagues I work alongside every day. It was a truly special moment and one that I will remember for a long time.”
For Sarah, the occasion was an opportunity to reflect on the shared purpose of the NHS colleagues across the country. She said: “It was a real privilege to represent Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust at such a special event. It was wonderful to come together with colleagues from across the NHS, the people who work within it, and the difference we make every day.”
Read more about Megan and Sarah, alongside other NHS colleagues from across the South East, in NHS England’s feature: NHS England — South East » 78 faces one shared purpose: How the South East is helping deliver the 10 Year Health Plan
