Happy 75th Birthday, NHS!

In honour of the heroes who work and volunteer for Britain's National Health Service (NHS), we're celebrating their 75th birthday by looking back through their history to remember landmark achievements and scientific breakthroughs.

We'll also show off some of the pins and patches we've made for the NHS and other organisations including cute designs or merchandise that have helped raise money and awareness for medical and mental charities.

1948 - The NHS is Born

On the 5th July 1948, the National Health Service opened its doors to provide free healthcare to anyone in need. 

We can faithfully recreate organisation and company logos in enamel pin form like a simple yet eyecatching NHS badge or any other charity branding.

1959 - The Mental Health Act

The Mental Health Act is implemented, ushering in a lifelong commitment to improving mental health in the UK.

We've worked with lots of mental health organisations & well-being champions over the years to raise awareness of mental health issues and acceptance. The Mental Health Foundation ordered green ribbon pins to promote their vision of "a world with good mental health for all."

1968 - First Heart Transplant

On the 3rd May 1968, a team of seven doctors and nurses performed the first successful heart transplant in the UK. It took seven hours to complete.

Heart-shaped pin badges are one of the most popular designs we make at Made by Cooper. We've produced everything from a simple love heart to a floral, anatomically correct heart complete with a carotid artery, and everything in between.

1978 - The UKs First Test Tube Baby

On the 28th July, 1978, Louise Brown was born at the NHS Royal Oldham Hospital. She was the UK's first test tube baby.

The designers of these test tube and baby pin badges were able to take advantage of our colour variations service that lets clients change the base colour of badges for no extra charge to make a collectible series of their pins or support different causes.

1988 - Breast Cancer Screening

To combat increasing breast cancer deaths, the NHS introduced a breast cancer screening programme for women aged 50 to 65.

We've been asked by multiple designers and organisations to make creative pins and patches to help improve breast cancer awareness, raise money for charity, and to persuade women to get checkups more often. Against Breast Cancer UK utilised many aspects of what we offer to make some beautiful pins & backing cards.

1991 - NHS Trusts

In 1991 the NHS introduced 57 trusts, which gave each sector responsibility for the ownership and management of the trust. Ninety-nine additional trusts were added the following year.

Individual NHS trusts approach us to help create pin badges to represent their branches, commemorate milestones, or reward their staff.

2009 - Act F.A.S.T.

Time is of the essence when someone suffers from a stroke, so the NHS introduced the FAST campaign to encourage a swift response when people show stroke symptoms.

We helped the Stroke Association to "Make May Purple" with their cute heart badge that they sold to raise funds and to get people talking about aphasia.

2018 - NHS Pride

The NHS announces it’s “Out and Proud” by launching its “NHS rainbow pin.” Evelina London Children’s Hospital started the project to communicate that the hospital is an inclusive and non-judgmental organisation. Hundreds of other trusts quickly joined the initiative.

To date, we’ve made over half a million Rainbow Pins for the NHS and handled the complex logistics of dealing with every trust and authorised supplier that took part in this initiative.

2020 - See Me First

Whittington Health Trust's staff introduced their own campaign, "See Me First," which aims to eradicate discrimination throughout its organisation and treat its BAME staff with dignity and respect through an open and non-judgemental environment. 

We used the success of the Rainbow Pin campaign as a blueprint to handle the dispatch and delivery of the badges to individual trusts. We also kept Whittington Health Trust up to date on how many See Me First pins had been supplied.

2019 to 2021 - Coronavirus Pandemic

The NHS led the fight against COVID-19, and medical professionals all over the UK became heroes to the nation. The world’s first COVID-19 vaccine was administered by nurse May Parsons on 8th December 2020.

Many NHS Groups and organisations wanted to thank the staff & volunteers for their heroic work throughout the pandemic, so we helped people from all walks of life to create various patches and pins as a way to express their gratitude.

2021 - NHS Awarded the St George’s Cross Medal

The NHS becomes only the second organisation in history to be awarded the George’s Cross. The highest civilian award for gallantry was given for 73 years of dedicated and courageous service. 

We're experts in producing commemorative badges, patches, coins, and medals that organisations use to celebrate achievements, reward staff, and give as keepsakes to event participants.

2023 - The NHS Celebrates Its 75th Birthday

At Made by Cooper, we want to thank the NHS for everything they do for the people of our country under some of the harshest conditions they’ve ever faced. We’ll always be here to support them in any way we can.

We can support you too in producing your fundraising pins, awareness patches, or events merch, get in touch to find out how.