THURROCK Council raised the NHS flag at the Civic Offices in Grays today (Monday, 5 July), to celebrate and commemorate frontline services.

Deputy mayor Cllr James Halden delivered a speech about the critical role the NHS and frontline services have played during the COVID-19 pandemic as the NHS celebrates its 73rd birthday.

Cllr Halden said "The NHS has played an incredibly crucial role in supporting each of us and our entire community throughout the pandemic. Their resilience, determination and strength has been an inspiration to us all.

"Whether through supporting on the frontline and in direct response to the virus, administering vaccinations across the country or continuing to provide regular health checks and appointments to care for our everyday health needs, their immense effort to help everyone has been the backbone of our country's battle against this virus.

"Our debt of gratitude extends to the whole health family, from paramedics who are often first on the scene at terrible incidents, to our pharmacists and social workers who are often an unseen frontline.

"Finally, I want to thank the extended key worker family, from lorry drivers to shop workers - they kept going in the pandemic in order to keep the nation going."