Show your support for East London's NHS and #WearTheBadge | Our news

Barts Charity has launched a #WearTheBadge public awareness campaign across East London to celebrate the area's NHS and showcase its work to support hospital staff and patients.

The campaign, which will run until September, will depict members of the local community alongside NHS staff and celebrities on giant advertising billboards, double decker buses, and at Tube ticket gates.

Those taking part include West Ham captain Mark Noble, Professor Chloe Orkin who is leading ground-breaking research into HIV, and Erkan Mustafa, the actor who played Roland in the TV show Grange Hill and who now works in the Patient Transport Team at Newham Hospital.

Staff, patients and East London community members are encouraged to sign up for a specially commissioned badge to show their pride and support for the NHS.

Fiona Miller Smith, chief executive of Barts Charity, said that she will be wearing her badge as a mark of appreciation for all that the NHS has achieved, particularly during the pandemic.

“What our hospital colleagues have been through during the past year, and the way they’ve responded, has been truly awe inspiring. We’ve seen first-hand how tirelessly they’ve worked in the most challenging of circumstances, and we owe them an awful lot.

“As we dare to look beyond the pandemic, our staff and hospitals will still be there for us, and Barts Charity will still be here for them - supporting staff mental health, funding new equipment, and delivering ground-breaking medical research into the illnesses that disproportionately affect our local communities.

“I will be wearing my badge as a mark of appreciation for all that has been achieved in the most challenging of circumstances, and as a sign of hope for the future. I urge colleagues and members of our local community to join me in getting their own badge, and wearing it with similar pride.”

Sign up for your badge here.