ALL of us at one time or another will find ourselves in the hands of a doctor, nurse or health worker.

But how many of us take the time to thank them for what are very often life-saving duties?

So in recognition of the hard work of NHS staff across Worcestershire a special service will be held at Worcester Cathedral on Sunday, September 28 thanking them for everything they do.

And everyone in the county is invited to come along and say thank you in person.

The service, brainchild of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust chairman Harry Turner, will be preceded with a procession of 100 civic dignitaries and NHS staff from the Guildhall to the Cathedral at 1.30pm and kicks off a week-long celebration of the work of health staff in the county.

Harry says: “My main ambition, amongst other things, is that we engage with and take every opportunity to recognise the excellent work done by our staff.

“I know there are many people who share my sentiments and will want to show their support and appreciation for their local NHS services.

“I believe this event is the first of its kind within a hospital trust and yet again Worcestershire is leading the way.

“I know that the service is going to be a fantastic celebration and I urge people to come along and share what promises to be a very memorable day.

“It’s the least we can do to show our incredible staff that we support them in what they are doing.”

Hospital chaplain Rev David Southall is arranging the event along with Mr Turner and said he hoped the Cathedral would be packed out for the service.

“We know that so many of us in the county have benefitted from the expertise, dedication, compassion and commitment of our nurses, doctors and hospital workers,” he says.

“Every day they make a difference to our lives and so we are inviting members of the public to come along to the service as a vote of thanks for the NHS.

“After all these are our hospitals and we are extremely proud of them.

“Of course many of the staff will say they are ‘just doing their job’ but they do so much more than that. After all, try to imagine our country without the NHS.”

The service will include an address from Bishop of Worcester John Inge, contributions from NHS staff and the first performance of the Voices for Health choir – a group of health workers led by Rev Southall.

“This will be our first performance and what a stage to do it on,” he says.

“We are a little in awe of the task but excited to take part in this as our tribute to NHS staff. Our choir practices are great fun and we are looking forward to the event.”

Between April 2013 and March 2014 141,619 patients visited A&E in the county while doctors and surgeons carried out 89,696 procedures and midwives delivered 5,910 babies.

The trust also carried out 51,983 ultrasound scans, 16,465 endoscopies, 182,226 x-rays, 33,313 CT scans, 21,400 MRI scans, 517 knee replacements, 512 hip replacements and fitted 287 pacemakers.

Although staff appreciation events are commonplace in the private sector, where they have been shown to frequently result in an increase in staff morale, they are less common in public organisations such as the NHS.

“Happy staff do a better job,” said Rev Southall, who writes a column in Your Health every Monday and also runs a blog, revdavidsouthall.com. The award-winning Good News blog has received more than 328,000 hits since its launch in March last year.

“Whilst our event relies on sponsorship and not public money, and staff will be doing their normal jobs during the day, this service is a chance to engage staff and community in a different way," he continues.

“A recent piece of research showed that staff with high morale in the NHS led to a decrease in patient mortality and an increase in patient care - a staggering piece of research which deserves to be taken seriously.”

Other events to be held at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital throughout the week include a long service ceremony recognising those who have worked for the trust for 25 years or more, a staff appreciation day and the organisation’s annual staff achievement awards.

He added any businesses who would be interested in sponsoring the week of celebration can contact the trust on 01905 763 333.

Tickets for the service are available free of charge by calling 01905 733960 or emailing celebration@worcsacute.nhs.uk.

For updates on the service follow @WorcsAcuteNHS on Twitter.