A Lewisham museum has launched a new digital exhibition shining a light on the 72-year history of migrants working in the NHS.

Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS explores the key role migrants, who form around a quarter of NHS staff along with people from minority ethnic backgrounds, have played in the public health system since its creation in 1948.

Many have found themselves working on the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic and a disproportionate number have lost their lives.

Aditi Anand, head of creative content at the Migration Museum and curator of the exhibition, said: “As the outpouring of affection during the Covid-19 pandemic has shown, the NHS is a source of national pride and is often painted as a distinctly British success story.

“Yet the NHS simply wouldn’t exist without the generations of people from all over the world who have built, grown and staffed it.

“Heart of the Nation highlights the vital role that migrants have always played in the NHS and the extent to which, just like the NHS, migration is central to the very fabric of who we are in Britain – as individuals, as communities and as a nation.

“Now more than ever, this is a story that needs to be told.”

The Migration Museum moved to Lewisham Shopping Centre earlier this year following a two-and-a-half-year residency in Lambeth.

Heart of the Nation is a multimedia exhibition which includes oral histories and archival materials, as well as art, animations and data visualisations.

A physical display accompanying the exhibition will be launched when the museum reopens in late October.

Highlights include dozens of stories contributed by people who have come from all over the world to work at all levels of the NHS from the 1940s to the present day, a newly commissioned animation by visual storyteller Tribambuka, and a range of personal and archival photographs.

The Migration Museum has worked with Spotify to create a Heart of the Nation playlist, including songs shared with us by NHS workers.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a social media campaign, encompassing behind-the scenes content, conversations with influencers and NHS staff, and opportunities for users to submit stories.

Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS launched on October 5 at heartofthenation.migrationmuseum.org.