Award the NHS the George Cross for gallantry when the coronavirus is over. · petition

What the petition asks

Award the entire workforce of the NHS the George Cross - the highest possible award for gallantry open to civilians - when the coronavirus crisis is over. It is awarded for ‘acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger’.

The George Cross has, in the past, been awarded to groups of people, such as the entire population of Malta during the Second World War after they survived repeated invasion attempts. The citation from the then monarch, King George VI, read: ‘To honour her brave people, I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history.’ We believe this would be a fitting citation for the NHS now.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign these petitions calling for the same action.

Award Covid-19 medals to all emergency services and involved armed forces: Award Covid-19 medals to all emergency services and involved armed forces

A medal to honour the fortitude of people working in essential occupations: A medal to honour the fortitude of people working in essential occupations

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/

Read correspondence with Government Ministers asking further questions: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

Timeline

24 Mar 2020	Petition opened for signatures
15 Apr 2020	Rejected by the Petitions Committee