WESTMORLAND General Hospital will be lit up blue as part of a nationwide effort to create the biggest ‘thank-you’ the country has ever seen.

A ‘pause for applause’ will take place across the UK at 5pm this Sunday; the day the NHS marks 72 years.

And the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) is getting in on the act.

As part of the event, UHMBT will be lighting up buildings on its main hospital sites in blue and sharing thank you messages on social media accompanied by the hashtag - #ThankYouTogether.

On Saturday evening, everyone is asked to put a light in their windows in remembrance of those we have lost during the pandemic. Public buildings will be lit up in NHS blue, including UHMBT’s main sites, the Blackpool Tower, Royal Albert Hall, the Shard and the Wembley Arch.

Broadcasters across the country will suspend normal transmissions at 5pm on Sunday as people across the country pause what they are doing to think of others.

Everybody will be encouraged to stop what they’re doing and join with others - following social distancing - in their streets or neighbourhoods to applaud not just the NHS and other key workers but all those who have volunteered or helped to keep services and community networks going.

Aaron Cummins, chief executive of UHMBT, said: “Our trust and the local community are living through the biggest health challenge in the history of the NHS. I have been bowled over by the way that everyone has come together in the most difficult of times.

“Our staff continue to show incredible dedication, strength, compassion, skill and care for all of our patients and their families. The public’s support has sustained our NHS colleagues through these challenging times and we appreciate that immensely. We also wish to remember those we have lost and pay tribute to them.

“In the light of such outstanding support for each other, we are hugely grateful to be marking the 72nd anniversary of the NHS; a year that will go down in history and one that we will never forget. We will continue to do our very best for our patients."