Winners of NHS staff and volunteers photography competition

The image, titled ‘The Solution’ by senior pharmacist Wasim Baqir, was taken on Christmas Eve 2020 during one of his shifts an NHS COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Northumbria and shows hundreds of used vaccine vials in an orange sharps bin illustrating the NHS’ mammoth effort to deliver the vaccination programme

Five winners of the competition have been unveiled at the FUJIFILM House of Photography, with images including long-serving nurse, ‘Mother Obe’, the NHS COVID-19 vaccination effort and an ambulance battling the Beast from the East among the winning images.

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The national competition, run by NHS England in partnership with Fujifilm, saw hundreds of the health service’s staff and volunteers from across the country enter photographs that told their unique stories of what the NHS means to them.

The five winners, each of whom represent the broad range of professions across the health service, were picked from a shortlist of 75 photographs across five different categories and their photographs will be displayed at the NHS 75th anniversary service at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday.

All of the 75 shortlisted images will also be displayed in an exhibition titled ‘Our NHS at 75’, held at the FUJIFILM House of Photography in Covent Garden, London, and open to public viewing from the 5th July 2023, exactly 75 years to the day that the NHS was established.

NHS chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, said: “This competition has provided the perfect opportunity for our incredible staff and volunteers to give a snapshot of life in the NHS, 75 years on from its inception – and we were amazed by the hundreds of brilliant, thought-provoking, and inspiring entries from NHS colleagues across the country.

“I want to offer my personal congratulations to the winners and everyone that took part – as we mark 75 years of the health service, your images will provide fantastic insight into life in our remarkable NHS throughout the exhibition and I cannot wait to see them in person.”

Tom Watanabe, Managing Director for Fujifilm UK, said: “As a proud partner to the NHS for many years, we are honoured to collaborate with them on this competition. We know from working with NHS colleagues up and down the country the passion they have for the health service, even in the most challenging of times, so we were delighted to help shine a spotlight on some of these fantastic stories.

“The exhibition will offer the public a unique opportunity to see what happens behind the scenes in our health service every day and it is a fitting way to mark 75 years of the NHS.”

The five competition categories and their winners are:

Our People: From the nurses, doctors and other clinicians who care for us in our time of need, to the porters and cleaners who keep our hospitals moving our people are the driving force behind the NHS. This category recognises the individuals and teams that make up who the NHS is.

The Northern Echo: Emmanuel Espiritu's imageEmmanuel Espiritu’s image (Image: NHS)

Winner: Emmanuel Espiritu, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Our Innovations: Since 1948, the NHS has innovated and adapted to meet the needs of each successive generation, putting patients at the heart of everything it does. This category celebrates innovation across the NHS in all its forms – from cutting edge treatments to pioneering ways of delivering care.

Winner: Wasim Baqir, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Our Environment: The NHS has more patients sleep in our beds each night than there are hotel rooms in London. The way our buildings are designed and used provides opportunities to support better patient care and staff wellbeing. This category explores NHS grounds and buildings – indoors and out – and how individuals, teams and communities are working together to integrate sustainability into what we do.

The Northern Echo: Joe Cartwright's imageJoe Cartwright’s image (Image: NHS)

Winner: Joe Cartwright, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

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Our Care: Kindness and compassion are at the heart of how we deliver care in the NHS. This category will capture that core value – whether that is the care we provide our patients, or to each other as colleagues.

The Northern Echo: Ewa Gasior's imageEwa Gasior’s image (Image: NHS)

Winner: Ewa Gasior, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Our Partners: Every day the NHS is witness to extraordinary teamwork – a coming together of NHS staff alongside hundreds of thousands of volunteers, partners, charities and beyond. This category is to celebrate the crucial role those partnerships play in helping us deliver the best possible care for patients.

The Northern Echo: Jenny Brodie and Mary McConnell's imageJenny Brodie and Mary McConnell’s image (Image: NHS)

Winner: Jenny Brodie and Mary McConnell, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Free Charity

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