Prince William pays tribute to NHS heroes at special event marking its 70th anniversary

Prince William will dub the NHS “one of our country’s greatest treasures” tonight at the star-studded NHS Heroes Awards.

The royal will deliver a special tribute message at the glittering ceremony to the country’s NHS staff, who he describes as “truly inspirational”.

Ahead of this evening’s event, marking the 70th anniversary of the NHS, organisers ITV and the Mirror have unveiled the winners who will each collect an award from an array of stars, led by host Paul O’Grady, eager to celebrate their extraordinary dedication, skill and often life-changing work.

Winners drawn from the full range of frontline NHS services across the UK include an inspirational surgeon who saves the lives of knife and gun victims on a daily basis, and saved the first stabbing victim of the London Bridge terror attack, a 70-year-old midwife who has been delivering babies in remote and extreme conditions for 50 years, and a pair of doctors who pioneered a non-beating heart transplant which has saved many lives. The UK’s first ever female professor of surgery will also be recognised for her incredible work across decades and for being a role-model to many other women.

Award winners also include a mother who raised more than £2m to fund cancer research after losing her son to the disease, and a teenage girl who lost her best friend in the Manchester arena terror attack, and in spite of suffering serious injuries herself, has raised thousands for the specialist unit that saved her life.

The NHS Heroes Awards will be on ITV next Monday [21 May] in a special two hour show from 8.30pm. Making it a real royal occasion for the winners, it will feature an appearance by HRH Duchess of Cornwall, who will present a special award.

And celebrities such as Michael Sheen, Dame Shirley Bassey, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Sir Tom Jones and stars from Coronation Street, Holby City, Casualty and Call The Midwife paying tribute to some truly awe-inspiring people at the glamorous red carpet event held at London’s Hilton on Park Lane.

In a special message to be played at the event this evening, guests will hear Prince William say: “The National Health Service is one of our country's greatest treasures, and something we should all be immensely proud of.

“Perhaps the most wonderful thing about the NHS is its people. The skill, care, and dedication that they provide every day is truly inspirational.

“I would like to pay tribute to every member of NHS staff, and the wonderful volunteers who do so much to support them - we owe you all a huge thank you.”

A full list of the winners is below:

Hero Doctor
Dr Martin Griffiths, 50, will receive the Hero Doctor award. The top trauma surgeon works on the A and E frontline and saves lives on a daily basis of people who have been stabbed and shot. He saved the life of the first person stabbed in the London Bridge terror attack and in a huge coincidence, had also saved the victim’s father’s life when he operated on his heart several years earlier.

Special Recognition
Lewis Hine, aged 17, from Portsmouth will receive the special recognition award. Lewis, who has had a life in and out hospital due to having a brain tumour, organises dances for ill teens, who like him, have missed their school prom.

Emergency Lifesaver
An emergency team who saved the life of Britain’s youngest gunshot victim will receive the Emergency Lifesaver Award. James Lafferty, Sherridan Best, Caroline Appleby and Vidar Magnusson were the first on scene when in March 2011 five-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran was shot in her uncle’s shop. The team had to perform delicate emergency surgery on her while she lay in the street in South London.

Young Fundraising Hero
Freya Lewis, aged 15, from Manchester lost her best friend in the Manchester arena terror attack and was seriously injured herself. In the year since the attack, Freya and her family have raised over £40,000 to thank the medics in Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital that helped to save her life. Freya is also training for a fundraising run.

Hero Nurse
Seventy-year-old Betty Macintyre from Oban has been delivering babies for over 50 years in extreme and challenging circumstances in remote parts of Scotland. She has delivered two babies on a lifeboat as well as delivering several generations of the same families.

NHS Fundraising Hero
Lynn Lucas from Newcastle will receive the NHS Fundraising Hero award for raising more than £2million to fund research into the rare cancer that killed her teenage son. The
money raised has paid for research scientists for 12 years who have made a breakthrough in medicine that slows down tumour growth.

Mental Health Champions
Dan Farnworth, age 32, and Rich Morton, 28, from Blackpool created ‘Our Blue Light’ which helps all emergency services with PTSD after traumatic rescues or attending horrific scenes.

Pioneering Hero Award
Steven Tsui and Stephen Large work in Papworth Hospital and will receive the Pioneering Hero award after they made it possible to restart a beating heart allowing a new type of transplant. Their work means more people on the donor register can receive a heart, saving more lives.

Special Recognition
Sara Rowbotham, age 50, from Manchester will receive the Special Recognition award. The NHS sexual health worker was the carer and confidante for the vulnerable children involved in the Rochdale grooming scandal and her evidence led to the conviction of nine child abusers.

Hero Volunteer
After having prostate cancer himself, garage mechanic Errol McKellar, 59, from London offered his male customers a discount if they got checked for the illness. He has advised 3,000 people about the disease and 46 men have been diagnosed as a result.

Aneurin Bevan Lifetime Achievement Award
Professor Averil Mansfield, age 80, was born in Blackpool to a working class family. From an early age she set her heart on being a surgeon and became a leader in her field saving thousands of lives through pioneering stroke-preventing arterial surgery. She was the UK’s first female professor of surgery, becoming a role model to women.

Notes to Editors

The NHS Heroes Awards is brought to you by ITV and the Mirror and takes place on Monday 14th May at London’s Hilton on Park Lane.

Press contact:
sarah.stevens@itv.com