From lifesaving doctors and nurses to tireless porters and selfless volunteers, our NHS is full of heroes.
And now we are going to celebrate them with an awards show to mark its 70th anniversary.
The NHS Heroes Awards, brought to you by ITV and the Mirror, will honour their devotion at a glittering dinner to be screened as a two-hour special.
Attended by major stars, it will celebrate the people who make our country’s greatest treasure what it is.
But first we need you to name your particular heroes. It could be a nurse, midwife or carer who changed a life or a doctor whose dedication and skill saved one.
Stephen Hawking was a passionate supporter of the NHS who campaigned against privatisation and clashed with Jeremy Hunt.
Or maybe a paramedic who risked death to tend to a casualty, inspirational volunteers and support staff or fundraisers who are determined to give something back. We will also honour the pioneers who have developed treatments that are changing lives around the globe.
The winners will be chosen by a panel including leading medical experts and will be honoured at the London awards dinner in May.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: “It’s great that the Mirror and ITV have come together to pay tribute to NHS staff in this, our 70th anniversary year.
“There has never been a better time to recognise the extraordinary care they deliver every day, often in very challenging circumstances.”
Who's your NHS hero?
You can nominate your heroes today for NHS Heroes Awards brought to you by ITV and the Mirror.
Please fill out an online nomination form at www.NHS-Heroes.co.uk or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
And to get you thinking, some of our favourite celebrities and brilliant columnists have told of their own heroes...
Phil Neville
Without the amazing Dr Phil Bullen at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester my wife Julie and daughter Isabella might not be here today.
When Julie went into premature labour at 28 weeks, Dr Bullen and his team worked round the clock to stop the labour to give Isabella the best chance of survival. When she was born at 30 weeks by emergency C-section, Julie lost a lot of blood and Isabella’s heart had stopped.
Without their dedication and expertise 14 years ago our world could have been destroyed. Dr Bullen and his fantastic team saved them both and they do the same for other families every day. They are my NHS heroes.
Antony Cotton
Back in 2005 I was asked to help raise funds to build the new children’s hospital in Manchester.
I remember being shocked that this wasn’t being funded entirely from central Government.
Following the closure of Booth Hall and Pendlebury children’s hospitals this was an essential facility, not an additional luxury. It treats more than a quarter of a million children each year.
So I nominate the NHS staff of the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
As a founding patron, I’ve had the great privilege of seeing first hand the incredible work they do. They are the beating heart of the hospital and, with the 260,000 children the hospital treats every year, they’re part of one of the most wonderful and inspiring places in Britain.
Robbie Savage
I played football for a month – and even spent an afternoon on a bucking bronco machine at my son’s first birthday party – with a broken neck.
It turned out I was one slip, one fall, from being paralysed or worse.
Now I have a four-inch scar on my neck where a brilliant neuro-surgeon – Andre Jackowski – fused a bit of bone from my hip.
I was playing for Birmingham in 2004 when I landed on my head and felt a sensation like an electric current through my arms. I insisted on having a scan.
That’s when Mr Jackowsi told me I had a broken neck but promised I would be playing within two months. Sure enough, I was back heading a ball eight weeks later.
Piers Morgan
I would nominate A&E staff at two hospitals – Chelsea & Westminster and Kingston, Surrey.
They patched up my ribs when I fell (it was as embarrassing as it sounds), my youngest son’s dislocated shoulder (twice, playing rugby), my wife’s gashed knee (I told her not to run in the dark) and took care of my daughter when she had a convulsion as a toddler.
They were always calm, efficient, professional and cheery. World class.
Peter Andre
I am a huge fan of the NHS. The services it provides are incredible and it is something that can’t, and shouldn’t, be taken for granted.
When I had meningitis I was admitted to East Surrey Hospital and the care I received was fantastic. And when my dad was taken ill at the same hospital a few years later, he was looked after impeccably.
My hero is consultant Dr Ruaraidh MacDonagh at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton.
When I was very ill with kidney stones he was so reassuring and made sure not only that my surgery went smoothly but also that the after care was excellent.
Care from NHS doctors and nurses is second to none and we are so lucky to have them. Dr MacDonagh is now my father-in-law, so I was doubly lucky.
Lisa Riley
My NHS hero is Krishna Hooton who was my mum Cath’s last palliative care nurse in Fairfield hospital, Bury, before she came home to die.
She did so much more than administer drugs and make my mum pain-free. She cared for our whole family. She had such awareness – that I was holding everything together, that my dad was in denial and that my brother was breaking inside.
I can never repay her for what she did for my brother those last few days.
She always knew exactly what to say and when to say it and I am friends with her to this day.
She is one of many real unsung heroes of the NHS.
Kym Marsh
My baby Archie was stillborn at 21 weeks and five days. So when I became pregnant with my daughter Polly I knew I would need to be closely monitored.
Thankfully, I was placed in the care of St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, and in particular consultant obstetrician Dr Philip Bullen.
He was there for me 24/7, whenever I needed him.
And when Polly was born seven weeks premature in 2011, St Mary’s neonatal care unit – a super centre in the North West – were there for us.
Dr Bullen and all the staff at St Mary’s are true angels and miracle workers.
They became like a second family to me, always there to lend support and comfort when things got too much.
And they are also, without doubt, the reason that my Polly is here today.