The message is clear - 'Your NHS Needs You'.
They are "rallying the troops" and setting up a 'Volunteer Army' to help the doctors, nurses and other medical staff fighting coronavirus Covid-19 on the front line.
They need up to 250,000 people to help the 1.5m people who have been asked to stay inside to protect themselves from the deadly virus due to underlying health conditions.
They will be asked to do simple but vital things including delivering medicines, driving patients to doctors appointments and making regular phone calls to check on people who are isolating on their own.
Launching the appeal for help, Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and NHS Director of Primary Care, said: “Coronavirus is the biggest challenge we have ever faced, which is why we’re rallying the troops and telling the public: your NHS needs you.
“Across the country people are playing their part in the fight against the virus by staying home for the next 12 weeks, to protect themselves, others and the NHS.
“But many of those shielding will need our support to do that, and by signing up to be an NHS Volunteer Responder, people who are well can do their bit too.
“This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments where a single action from one person can be the difference between life and death for another, and simple acts of kindness are going to make all the difference in keeping some of the most vulnerable people well and out of hospital.
“NHS staff are pulling out all the stops to ensure those who need care receive it, and creating a bank of helpers that they can call upon to support their most vulnerable patients through this difficult time is going to be invaluable, so I would urge anyone who can to sign up as an NHS Volunteer Responder today.”
Signing up is easy, and all you need to do is visit goodsamapp.org/NHS.
Once you have registered you can be called on to take on one of the tasks.
The NHS has teamed up with the RVS and the GoodSAM app – a digital tool to help people offer their services to people in need – to launch the appeal, which was launched on Tuesday afternoon.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock asked people to get involved during the Government's daily coronvirus briefing.
He also announced that a new hospital will be opened at the ExCeL Centre in East London.
It will be named the Nightingale Hospital, and is set to take its first patients next week.
He said: “In these extraordinary times, it’s essential that we all pull together as part of the national effort to protect the most vulnerable, reduce pressures on our NHS and care system and save lives.
“If you are well and able to do so safely, I would urge you to sign up today to help the most vulnerable people in our communities as an NHS Volunteer Responder.
“Your help has the potential to make a real difference to some of those most affected by this outbreak – from delivering essential prescriptions to calling to check on the wellbeing of those self-isolating.
“I am immensely proud of how the whole country is coming together to help one another – we must continue to listen to and live by the latest medical and scientific advice and through this national effort we can truly make a difference.”
