Evelina London celebrate 70 years of the NHS with Heart
Posted on Friday 6th July 2018
Cathy Birch, top left, and the rest of the team in the studio at Heart FM
Staff and families across Evelina London have been celebrating 70 years of the NHS, including taking part in a live singalong event at Heart FM radio station.
A group of keen singers from Evelina London kicked off the 70th birthday celebrations in full voice when they dropped in to Heart FM radio station to sing live on TV and radio.
Members of the Evelina Voices choir joined thousands of NHS staff across the UK as part of a one-off ITV show capturing a host of stars from the pop world and NHS staff in a unique live event on Wednesday 4 July.
Presented by TV stars Ashley Banjo and Sara Cox, the 90-minute special TV show cut to the Evelina London singers live in the Heart FM studios. Joined by Heart presenter’s Sian Welby, Toby Anstis and Lucy Horobin, they sang loud and proud to launch the new charity single, the Beatles’ classic, ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’.
Cathy Birch, music therapist at Evelina London, attended the singalong, she said: “We were all so proud to represent Evelina London and the NHS at the singalong event. What better song than ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ to unite NHS staff across the country.
“As a music therapist I see the benefits of music on the wellbeing of young people every day. Working with families, I might be encouraging parents to have the confidence to sing to their baby in hospital, just as they do at home to bring comfort and reassurance. I could also be supporting physical recovery using music as a motivator. Just recently a young boy was able to get out of bed for the first time since surgery to play a drum kit I set up in a play room.”
With a Little Help from My Friends, is available from Friday 6 July. All proceeds will go to the NHS Charities Together, a group of more than 130 NHS charities that have come together to celebrate the 70th birthday and raise awareness of the work that NHS charities do to support the NHS.
Birthday celebrations were held across Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Evelina London staff have taken part in many special events including a service at Westminster Abbey and a garden party at 10 Downing Street.
The play specialist team at Evelina London arranged a tea party especially for children and families with special guests, Alice in Wonderland and the Hatter. A birthday card making competition was judged by Janet Powell, Director of Nursing, who declared the winners as Luca (14), Chanelle (12), Ezra (18 months) and Arjien (8), but commended all the entries for their creativity.
Follow @EvelinaLondon to see films and photos of the celebrations.