The Queen has presented the George Cross to the NHS for its heroics during the Covid pandemic and its achievements throughout the decades.
It is the highest civilian award for gallantry and has been presented to the health service for 74 years of dedicated service.
Looking relaxed, the Queen, 96, was joined by the Prince of Wales for a small Windsor Castle ceremony.
Health leaders from the four home nations were each awarded the medal – which has only been given to the service three times in the award’s 82 year history.
They were joined by frontline workers from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
‘Over more than seven decades, and especially in recent times, you have supported the people of our country with courage, compassion and dedication, demonstrating the highest standards of public service,’ representatives were told.
‘You have our enduring thanks and heartfelt appreciation.’
Among the frontline staff was May Parsons, the nurse who delivered the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials to Maggie Keenan on December 8 2020.
The Queen, who wore a day dress and moved with the aid of her now familiar walking stick, was on fine form and when told about the nurse’s historic first.
Witty as ever, the monarch made her guests laugh with the quip: ‘You’re still alive?’
When the nurse told the Queen how ‘terribly proud’ her colleagues are of the vaccine rollout, which was ‘so successful’, the Queen replied: ‘Yes it was amazing.’
And when NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard highlighted the tens of millions who have been jabbed, the monarch said ‘tremendous’.
Each health executive from the four nations and their frontline colleague came up in turn to receive a George Cross.
The prestigious prize was placed on a cushion carried by the Queen’s Equerry Lieutenant Colonel Tom White. The head of state touched it in a gesture to symbolise its presentation.
Accepting the award for NHS Scotland, palliative care nurse specialist Eleanor Grant said: ‘We wouldn’t be where we are today without our health services.
‘NHS and social care staff have cared for all of us on the frontline of the pandemic. Thanks to their dedication and duty, our NHS has saved countless lives and the George Cross is a symbol of the country’s gratitude.’
‘I know that the rest of Scotland will join me in paying tribute and giving thanks for everything the NHS and wider social care has done for us not only during the pandemic, but since its formation in 1948.’
Ms Grant, from University Hospital in Wishaw, was named Nurse of the Year at the Scottish Health Awards in 2021.
The nurse of 35 years said: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled to accept this award on behalf of my colleagues across health and social care In Scotland.
‘It’s an honour and a privilege. For me, Covid-19 has changed how I work. When patients were unable to have loved ones with them in their final moments, it was for me to be there.
‘We all pulled together in the toughest of times and did what we had to do.’
Plans are in development for Scotland’s George Cross to be put on public display.
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