3 OUH staff shortlisted in ‘Our NHS at 75’ photography competition

Three members of the Clinical Photography team at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) are finalists in a national photography competition to celebrate the 75th birthday of the NHS on 5 July – the shortlist was published today (Wednesday 21 June).

Emily Arthur, Ella Barks and Caroline Green are among 75 finalists in the ‘Our NHS at 75’ national photography competition run by NHS England, in partnership with Fujifilm, to mark NHS 75.

NHS staff and volunteers were invited to share their stories – through photos – and their entries were judged by a star-studded panel including Dame Ruth May (Chief Nursing Officer for England), award winning journalist Victoria Macdonald (Channel 4’s Health and Social Care Editor), and eminent photographer Lewis Khan.

All shortlisted photos will be displayed in a dedicated exhibition in Fujifilm’s House of Photography in London during July and August, opening on 5 July. In addition, the five overall winners will have their photos displayed at the NHS 75th anniversary service in Westminster Abbey on 5 July.

The three OUH photos shortlisted in the ‘Our NHS at 75’ national photography competition are:

• Therapy Assistant Adam Newberry demonstrating an interactive tablet in the Reminiscence Room on the Emergency Assessment Unit at the Horton General Hospital in Banbury, which has been designed to support patients with dementia thanks to funding from Oxford Hospitals Charity. The poppy field mural, bus stop and mood lighting provide a relaxing environment and the interactive tablet has different activities for patients. The image shown in the photo is responsive to touch and so the water will ripple, and the fish will come to your hand so you can feed them (virtually of course!).           
  Photo taken by Emily Arthur and shortlisted in the ‘Our innovations’ category
  
  
• Clinical Support Worker Zito, who works on the Adult Intensive Care Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, with one of his artworks. Zito is a talented artist who recycles and reuses materials, including used cardboard boxes from supplies delivered to the unit. When Zito has time and inspiration he adds to the drawings. His artwork comes from the heart, and he takes inspiration from the real-life scenes he witnessed while working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Photo taken by Caroline Green and shortlisted in the ‘Our environment’ category
  
  
• A member of the Estates team at the Horton General Hospital in Banbury. This team of staff work on a wide range of projects to fix and mend equipment, and maintain the environment of the hospital, and so their role is essential to the day-to-day running of the hospital.
  Photo taken by Ella Barks and shortlisted in the ‘Our environment’ category

The shortlisted photo of Adam Newberry by Emily Arthur (Head of Photography) will also feature in an OUH photography exhibition – Our future in focus – staff portraits to celebrate NHS 75 – which will be launched on 4 July with an exhibition at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals, as well as an online photo gallery. The exhibition is supported by funding from Oxford Hospitals Charity.

Our future in focus is a collection of 25 OUH staff portraits which offer a unique insight into the diverse range of people, professions and locations that make up OUH – many are of staff who work in roles ‘behind the frontline’ and so may not be immediately visible or well known to the public. Each portrait captures a member of staff in a setting that encapsulates their individual specialty and work environment.

Professor Meghana Pandit, Chief Executive Officer at OUH, said: “I am incredibly proud of our Clinical Photography team for being shortlisted in this high profile national competition for their wonderful portraits of staff colleagues working at the John Radcliffe and Horton General hospitals. Congratulations to Emily, Ella and Caroline for this well deserved recognition for their work.”

Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England and one of the six ‘Our NHS at 75’ photography competition judges, said: “We were amazed at the quality of photographs submitted to the competition – it’s incredible to see the way entrants have documented life in the NHS. The compassion, the ingenuity, the camaraderie, the good times and when it gets tough – it’s all captured throughout the five categories and it’s a really fitting way to mark 75 years of the NHS.”