Medical student from Sleaford behind fundraiser for a memorial to emergency services

Hithin Noble is now in his fourth year of studying medicine at Manchester University.

In between studies he and fellow medical student Maria Chowdhury started a non profit organisation www.scrubbed-up.com as a lockdown project in May 2020, to help and advise would-be medical students.

Among other things they conduct personalised webinars across the country designed to allow potential applicants to ask current medical students any questions and to discover what life at medical school is really like, as well as giving guidance to make sure there are less social and financial barriers to anyone wishing to train in medicine.

He said: “Now we are very proud to say we are a national non-profit organisation.”

Now his initiative is backing students across the UK to wear the colours of the emergency services tomorrow (Friday, December 3) in an effort to raise at least £3.2m to build the UK’s first monument to honour the NHS and emergency services.

Greatly inspired by the desperate battle against Covid-19, the campaign is called #UniteTheUniforms for the @999Cenotaph and will see school children and students from more than 500 schools wearing blue, green, red or orange clothing (the colours of the emergency services), and donating £1 which will go towards making the Emergency Services Cenotaph a reality .

Hithin, along with fellow Manchester medical student Maria Chowdhury, wanted to raise money for charity, and along with Robina Shah MBE presented the #UniteTheUniforms idea to the 999 Cenotaph’s CEO, Tom Scholes-Fogg, who spearheaded the campaign and made it a reality.

Speaking about the campaign, Hithin and Maria said: “This pandemic has put a spotlight on the hard work and resilience of our emergency services. We wanted to create a campaign to show our collective appreciation.

“The 999 Cenotaph is a monument to provide a permanent symbol to recognise the efforts of our skilled and selfless heroes, and we are truly proud to support this.

“We hope to create a fitting tribute that both commemorates our country’s frontline workers, and inspires the next generation of lifesavers. By standing in solidarity on this day, we are showing our support to those who dedicated their lives to protect us.”

Hithin said: “Seeing the Clap for the NHS campaign was really nice. Seeing how the country came together to appreciate the sacrifice and hard work of NHS personnel, we really wanted the campaign to reflect the hard work of all emergency service personnel - police, fire. ambulance, RNLI and I think the campaign really does that in a simple but really poignant way.”

Last year was their first year of clinical placement on the wards and it happened to be right in the midst of the Covid pandemic. They saw how everyone, from porters to nurses and doctors, stepped up and adapted while everyone else was locked down at home.

Almost two million people serve in the emergency services today, including 250,000 first responders – those who respond when you dial 999.

The 999 Cenotaph, sculpted by Philip Jackson, will be located on Whitehall in Westminster, London. It will stand 21ft tall and include six, 8ft figures stood back-to-back wearing the uniform they would wear when responding to a 999 call.

They are a police officer, firefighter, maritime volunteer, paramedic, nurse and a search and rescue volunteer. A dog is also included to represent the many service animals.

The project is supported by HRH The Duke of Cambridge; the Prime Minister; the First Ministers of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; and all emergency services.

Tom Scholes-Fogg, Chief Executive of 999 Cenotaph, said: “We are delighted to announce this one-off campaign, for a once in a lifetime monument to our 999 and NHS heroes. I very much hope students, teachers and parents show their support and get involved.”

How to show support:

Text ‘Hero 1’ to 70500 to donate £1.

If you would like to donate more than £1, visit www.999Cenotaph.org.uk

Follow on social media @999Cenotaph and #UniteTheUniforms.

All the money donated will go towards making the national monument a reality.