Pharmacist Ade Williams features in Rankin special

A powerful portrait of Bristol pharmacist Ade Williams has featured in a collection of photographs of NHS workers captured to recognise their role in the coronavirus crisis.

Eminent photographer John Rankin took photographs of 12 individuals from across the NHS workforce  because he wanted to "document who they are and their role in fighting this disease."

The photographs are being showcased at local bus stops, roadside billboards and iconic pedestrian areas across the country this week to mark the 72^nd anniversary of the NHS on Sunday (July 5).

Rankin took all the photographs from a safe distance and ensured the faces of his subjects were not hidden behind masks.

“I hope these images portray the resilience and courage they show every day in the face of real adversity,” said the celebrity photographer who has taken photos of the Rolling Stones, Kate Moss and the Queen.

Williams, a superintendent pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy in South Bristol, moved to the UK from Nigeria 23 years ago and lived with his aunt, who was a nurse in Brighton. 

He said as a teenager he was "utterly awestruck at how the NHS functioned" which inspired him to "study pharmacy".

He said: “In our team, working alongside my wife, also a pharmacist, we all share the belief that health inequality is a form of injustice. We literally have it written on our wall!

“Our goal every day is to help address this – which means there is never a dull moment. That is what gets me up in the morning.

“I pray that we can emerge from this pandemic with a more generous and equal society. We owe it to our patients, to those that have lost loved ones and for colleagues that have paid the ultimate price, to build a legacy that breaks down barriers and brings us all closer.

“We have faced a common fear, so now, we must together embrace kindness and hope to build a better future.”