Hundreds of NHS staff join coronation celebrations

NH S staff b ecame a part of h ist o r y l a st we e k e n d a ft e r b e in g se l e c t e d t o a t t e n d e vents to cel ebra te the coron at ion of King C har le s III a nd Que en Camil la

Two hundred staff had prime seats for the coronation in recognition of the dedication, service and impact of hundreds of thousands of NHS staff and volunteers over its 75-year history – with a special grandstand set up near Buckingham Palace giving them a unique view of Their Majesties The King and Queen Consort leaving for Westminster Abbey and returning in the Gold State Coach after officially being crowned

To represent the health service, chief executive Amanda Pritchard attended the Coronation Ceremony at Westminster Abbey, as well as paramedic Chris Bell, who attended the first Covid patient in the UK in 2020

Professor Dame

Elizabeth Anionwu played a key role in the ceremony, carrying the gold Sovereign Orb Dame Elizabeth first started working with the NHS as a school nurse assistant in Wolverhampton aged 16 and went on to become the first sickle cell nurse specialist in the UK, devoting her career to working with black and minority ethnic communities in London, and recognised as one of the 70 most influential nurses and midwives in the history of

Met arrests dozens during King coronation ceremony

Hum an rights g rou ps have accused the Met o f attacking civ il liberties wh en the latter a rrest ed d o zens o f pe op le d u ri ng th e c o ro n ati o n o f K ing C harles III to prevent d isrup tion

On the day Charles was crowned King, the Metropolitan Police said it had made 52 arrests including for “affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause apublic nuisance” After the government pushed through new powers to prevent protests days before the coronation on Saturday, rights organisations said the arrests showed the right to expression in the UK was under threat Martha

Spurrier, director of campaign organisation Liberty said the crackdown was the latest in a “concerted attack” on civil liberties Antimonarchy group Republic took to Twitter and said that six of its members, including chief executive Graham Smith were arrested and hundreds of placards were seized on Saturday morning Meanwhile, the Met said it had received intelligence that groups were planning to disrupt the coronation procession using rape alarms On Saturday, it arrested three people in central London at about 2:00 am Later they were released on bail

Feltham and Heston MP fighting for interfaith dialogue funding

S ee m a Ma l h o t r a M P , t h e Labour MP for F eltham and H e s to n, h a s w r it t en t o M ich ael Gove, the Level ling U p , Ho u s in g a nd C o m m u ni t ie s Se c r e ta r y , t o a s k w h y f u n di ng h a s b e en w i t h dr a w n f r o m t h e U K ’ s l argest organis ation sup po rti ng i nte rf ai th d ial o gu e and ac tio n

For almost four decades, Inter Faith Network UK (IFN) has been dedicated to increasing understanding and cooperation between people of different faiths and growing public awareness of the distinct religious traditions in the UK IFN also supports hundreds of member bodies, including Hounslow Friends of Faith

IFN has been supported by annual grants from the Government of at least £220,000 for the past decade

But this year, the Government withdrew all funding from IFN with little notice, putting the future of the charity and its member bodies at risk

Seema Malhotra MP said:

“Our experience in Hounslow has shown the vital contribu- the NHS when the health service marked its 70th anniversary Individuals who have been awarded the BEM were invited to the ceremony

The following day, on the evening of Sunday 7th May, 50 more NHS staff from around the country attended the Coronation Concert, held at Windsor Castle, where they enjoyed the entertainment from acts including Take That, Olly Murs, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Tom Cruise and Winnie the Pooh

A 300-strong Coronation Choir performed at the concert, including members of Hull's NHS choir, and Emma Withey, a housekeeper at Black Country Healthcare

NHS Foundation Trust and member of UNIFY Choir, an all-deaf sign performance group and the only deaf choir in the UK King's College London celebrated with treats for staff as well as a special Coronation high tea for inpatients, while children at Evelina London Children's Hospital prepared by creating crowns, artwork and play dough cupcakes, and the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry hosted a tea party for local veterans in their Headley Court Veterans' Orthopaedic Centre NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard, who attended the Coronation at