Sharing the artifacts that became most sentimental to him after he left the NHS, Kay remembers: “I’ve thrown away a lot of the stuff from when I was a doctor, but the things I’ve kept are the half a dozen cards that patients have sent me over the years. That was a tiny action in the scheme of things to the patient, but it made a disproportionate difference to me. It kept me going not just through a bad day, or a bad week but sometimes a bad month.”

“If you had a need to use the NHS over the last year, send them a little card or a box of chocolates. Whatever you can afford. It will make a difference to people who are pulling together in an incredibly stressful, stretched service. Even if you haven’t required the NHS in the last year, there are still things you can do. Give blood, donate money to a hospice, to the people who desperately need your help and your support.”

So there we have it, the smallest actions can have the biggest impact. So grab yourself an extra pack of Christmas cards, and make a healthcare professional’s Christmas.

Adam Kay has a simple way for people to help NHS staff this Christmas