Sussex NHS Staff In "Portraits For Heroes" Covid-19 Project

Dozens of NHS professionals in West Sussex have had their portraits painted for posterity, after working through the Covid-19 pandemic.

That's according to the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust whose staff have been included in the "Portraits For NHS Heroes" project.

The #PortraitsforNHSheroes campaign became an Instagram hit after artist Thomas Croft painted an A&E nurse in full PPE as his way of giving something back to the health service.

As the project grew, the public was encouraged to put people forward for portraiture by many established artists — and the Western Sussex gallery has grown to include more than 50 members of staff.

Very happy to paint another #portraitsfornhsheroes. Sharon Reed, is a lead nurse for infection prevention & control in W Sussex, nominated by Jo, who said 'she has never faltered with her positive & cheery outlook & has propped us all up.' Thank you, Sharon! pic.twitter.com/1IbX2Cp4yZ

— Rachel Ward (@RachelWardbooks) May 2, 2020

The trust said it believed that, nationally and internationally, these paintings were being looked at as part of the NHS's history from our present day.

Jo Habben, who's the trusts's head of clinical governance and patient safety, said:

"Online galleries and exhibitions are popping up and there is a great deal of public and media interest.

"These are ordinary people going about their jobs, suddenly thrust into the spotlight, bemused by the ‘hero’ tag and continuing, as they always do, to provide the best care under challenging circumstances."

My 3rd finished #portraitsfornhsheroes painting for the @tomartist32 project. This is Ellen Calloo @bluebeak1 who is a twin, a sister, a daughter, and an auntie and godmother and an NHS healthcare assistant at Brighton Sussex University Hospital @BSUH_NHS pic.twitter.com/g6JbwUsWL1

— Julie Bennett (@jabennett) May 24, 2020

As part of a trust social media campaign to celebrate the new staff gallery, the subjects are being asked to reflect on both the challenges and highlights of recent months.

Lead nurse for infection prevention, Sharon Reed, said:

"Most challenging has been work life balance. And as a team we have had to overcome frequent, almost daily changes in guidance, especially early on.”

The trust's director of resilience, Jeanie Baumann, added:

"I have been blown away by how amazing and innovative our staff are and how they have all come to work and taken on this challenge. It is unbelievable and I feel terribly proud.”

The Portraits for NHS Heroes project remains open for nominations.

Western Sussex staff immortalised in #portraitsfornhsheroes pic.twitter.com/cBZOzYVAHE

— Knowledge Specialist Tom Kelly (@KnowledgeSpeci1) June 15, 2020

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