UK's first rainbow monument paying tribute to NHS unveiled in Bucks
Nightingale's Rainbow at Stoke Mandeville Hospital remembers resilience and kindness shown by NHS and local communities
Sitting at 5.5 metres tall and 8.3m wide, the giant rainbow is the first permanent tribute to the Covid-19 response in the UK.
Nightingale's Rainbow is a joint project between the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.
Initially proposed during the first lockdown in March 2020, the monument represents the hope, resilience and kindness shown by the NHS and local communities.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the rainbow became a symbol used by people across the nation to stand in solidarity with the NHS.
Hospitals were also built in response to the crisis and aptly called Nightingale, after the country's most recognisable nurse.
Both associations with the NHS, along with the Florence Nightingale Hospice were the inspiration behind the project name.
Before and during the crisis, the hospice continued to care for those who were terminally ill.
Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Neil Macdonald, said: “Nightingale’s Rainbow will mean so much to so many at the Trust, Florence Nightingale Hospice and also the wider community of Buckinghamshire.
The rainbow will be a physical installation to remember the year we have had, loved ones we have lost but also act as a symbol of hope for the future."
Speaking to Greatest Hits, Lee Lloyd, Head of Fundraising at the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity, said: "We think it's really important there's a lasting reminder because Covid has touched the lives of everyone.
"The rainbow is a symbol of hope. I've spoken to hundreds of people about Nightingale's Rainbow,
I've spoken to nurses and doctors and healthcare workers and all have them have said how important it is to have something which reminds them of what they've been through and how they got through it"
He added:
"We are absolutely thrilled that the first permanent Covid memorial will be in Aylesbury"
As well as a physical installation to remember the Covid-19 crisis, a fundraising campaign has also been launched to support the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust's Charitable Fund.
The virtual Nightingale's Rainbow allows dedications and messages of thanks to be left on the coloured tiles that make up the monument.
Over ÂŁ19,000 has already been raised, with the money going directly to the two charities to support local healthcare workers, patients and their families.