Ambulance heroes recognised at regional awards

For more information, contact the NEAS press office on 0191 430 2099 / 07969 195069.

Winner biogs are below, photographs and quotes from the winners will follow after the ceremony
Members of the press are invited to attend the awards ceremony, which will be held at Newcastle Racecourse on October 21. If you would like to attend, please contact the press office on Tel: 0191 4302099.

About North East Ambulance Service

North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) covers 3,200 square miles across the North East region.  It employs more than 2,500 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS 111 and 999 calls for the region, operating patient transport and ambulance response services, delivering training for communities and commercial audiences and providing medical support cover at events.

In 2015/16 the service answered 1.160 million emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls, responded to 295,855 incidents that resulted in a patient being taken to hospital, treated and discharged, 19,949 patients with telephone advice and treated and discharged 85,021 patients at home.  In the same year, emergency care crews reached 132,948 Red incidents within the national target of 8 minutes.

Winner biogs

Emergency Care Category - Sponsored by Ward Hadaway

WINNER: Tina Dyer and Jan Mcloughin
Paramedic Tina and Advanced Technician Jan were nominated by a colleague in the operations centre for their involvement in responding to victims of a double murder.  The two attended an emergency in Redcar in March this year where a critical patient had been involved in a serious assault.  Whilst on scene dealing with the patient’s critical condition, just seven minutes later, the police and ambulance service were alerted to reports of a second person having been attacked, less than a mile away.  The two volunteered from the scene of the first incident, to then attend the second along with the police, to give the patient the best chance of survival.  Both patients were unfortunately fatally wounded.  Faced with such distressing circumstances, their nominee wanted to recognise them for their calm and professional actions and the dignity and compassion they had for the situation and the patients’ family and friends.  Described as ‘delivering amazing frontline care with respect to their colleagues and patients’, the two worked as a team in a stressful situation, with their commitment to save lives and help patients in times of need. They showed the ultimate dedication to patient care, regardless of their personal feelings to the predicament.
Highly commended: Joe Saunders
Off duty Emergency Care Assistant in Bishop Auckland, Joe Saunders recently went to the aid of a neighbour who had collapsed in the street.  Joe had been called out to help in his pyjamas and slippers in the pitch black in a difficult environment where several family members were panicking.  Using his initiative and skills, Joe took control of the situation, confirming cardiac arrest and commencing excellent CPR, which he maintained for 10 minutes prior to the arrival of the paramedic.  Upon arrival, the paramedic Michael Charlton, found that the patient was in ventricular fibrillation and following advanced life support, they gained a return of spontaneous circulation.  The patient then made normal respitatory effort, with normal cardiac output and was transferred to an intensive care unit for further treatment.  Praised by his fellow colleague, Michael reported that the patient would have had very little, if not zero, chance of a successful outcome without Joe's help, professionalism and commitment to deliver an unmatched quality of care to patients.

Patient Transport Service – Sponsored by Ward Hadaway.

WINNER: Terry Durant
In April this year, Ambulance Care Assistant, Terry Durant was driving on the A19 when he notice a member of the public attempting to jump off one of the fly overs.  He stopped to help, putting himself at risk, talked the person down, got them into a place of safety and called for assistance, whilst still supporting the person’s needs.  He even insisted on accompanying them to hospital once an emergency care crew arrived to support the patient.  The patient was then able to access much needed treatment and is hopefully now on a road to recovery. As part of an organisation whose mission it is to save lives, Terry was in the right place at the right time.  Despite having had no formal training in dealing with such a stressful situation, Terry’s intervention most likely saved this person’s life and prevented major disruption and possible harm that could have been inflicted on the road users below.
Highly commended: Steve Schofield
Patient Transport Service Team Leader in Gateshead, Steve Schofield is described by his colleagues as the best team leader they could have ever asked for, responsible for maintaining positive morale and feedback at Gateshead station.  Leading a close knit team, Steve was notified earlier this year that a colleague had not turned in for duty.  Realising that this was totally out of character, he acted on his instincts and phoned and visited the colleague’s house and when he couldn’t raise him, he contacted his son and obtained permission from neighbours to access the rear of the property over a neighbouring fence.  There he found his colleague collapsed on the kitchen floor following to a major stroke.  He quickly requested an ambulance and kept his colleague warm and tried to keep him conscious until help arrived.  Sadly, the colleague passed away.  Despite the sad loss of their colleague, Steve is described by his team as having given their friend a ‘fighting chance to survive’.  Had he not used his initiative, his colleague may have lain alone for days awaiting help because he had been due to go on holiday the next day and Steve has since been a constant support for the family and the wider team.  A true asset to North East Ambulance Service, Steve’s care and compassion for both his patients and his colleagues shows the value of Trust employees and the true importance of team work in our service.

Operations Centre Award – Sponsored by Ward Hadaway.

  WINNER: Claire Garvey
Extremely popular amongst ambulance crews, Claire Garvey is an Ambulance Dispatcher, who is in contact with staff responding to patients on the frontline every day.  Nominated by her colleagues, Claire is described as friendly and cheerful, with a great rapport with her emergency care colleagues who report always feeling reassured by her support during their shifts.  Claire carefully balances the demands for ambulance crews to always be available for the next patient, with the wellbeing of staff working long shifts, often in a challenging environment.   On first name terms with all of her colleagues working on ambulances, Claire does her best to ensure staff get regular meal breaks and on time finishes and ‘thanks’ crews for their help at the end of every shift, which means a lot to those who she works with.  Under significant pressure, both the Operations Centre and frontline crews can experience tiredness and stress during their day to day work and relationships between the two teams can suffer as a result.  Claire’s road based colleagues wanted to recognise her for the morale boost she gives them and the difference she makes to their days.  Those who nominated her explain that getting back to station for meal breaks and getting finished on time means that they are more alert, less tired and stressed, which in turn improves patient experience of the service.   One person nominating her said, “If it is close to finishing time, she does her best to send us a backup crew or allocate another resource if one becomes available.  She is organised, uses her initiative and boosts staff morale every time she is on shift. I would always go that extra mile in my role but with Claire, I would go even further.”
Highly commended: Karen Renwick
Karen is a call handler, helping both NHS111 and emergency 999 patients every day.  Considered an outstanding member of her team, she always has the time and patience to assist her colleagues with any concerns and her professional manner and capability to control a difficult situation is remarkable.  An exceptionally caring person, Karen works 30 hours a week for NEAS, covering some of the peak times and when she’s not at work she helps her son and daughter in law care for her grandchild who has a life-limiting condition.  Many of Karen’s 999 calls involving patients who have successfully been pre-alerted into hospital following an active cardiac arrest have been highlighted in recent months, triggering compliments from patients and ambulance crews alike.  They include a member of the public who Karen had supported to do CPR on a stranger, who wished to meet Karen to thank her in person earlier this year. The patient survived thanks to Karen’s intervention and the story later made the news.  Team Leaders and paramedics have also praised Karen for her recognition of a potentially life threatening allergic reaction of a patient followed by prompt advice, as well as assisting with CPR and the deployment of a defib for a patient who made it safely to hospital with a return of spontaneous circulation.  And two of her acknowledgements came direct from her callers, thanking her for her calm reassurance in stressful times.

Outstanding Support Services –  Sponsored by Ward Hadaway.

WINNER: Susan Dixon
Susan is one of our Station Support Operatives who visits ambulance stations daily.  She has an unbridled passion and enthusiasm for being a part of North East Ambulance Service and she is always looking for ideas that will make the Trust more efficient.  This year, in preparation for our CQC visit, Susan has spent the majority of her time readying the ambulance stations – clearing waste, sorting stock levels, removing excess equipment and creating uniformed layouts of noticeboards with all the latest news, bulletins and clinical updates.  Some of this has meant Sue working long days and weekends because she was adamant that we do well in our CQC inspection.   Sue’s support at stations has improved communication between managers and operational staff, which is boosting their morale, she has updated and revised all ambulance station stores stock levels, which is having significant impact to the budget, and she has made sure that all ambulance stations are fully compliant for the CQC.  Her attitude and passion for her job is truly remarkable and the person nominating her felt strongly that Sue be acknowledged by the Trust that she loves being a part of.
Highly commended: Audrey Traynor and Emma Bridge
In our bid to close the vacancy gap for paramedics working at North East Ambulance Service, we decided to follow other Trusts and embark upon some international recruitment last year.  Though proving to be a success, international recruitment is far more complex than employing people who are already UK, if not North East, residents.  Audrey and Emma are part of the recruitment team who have been helping to manage this, working far beyond their usual remit to ensure the international candidates have a warm welcome, a smooth relocation and as good an experience as possible in the UK.  The key to success in any relocation process is supporting the candidates outside of work and getting existing candidates to re-assure new joiners. If candidates have a poor experience, it doesn’t only affect their ability at work, but it can also impact other potential new joiners.   The sooner the recruits are settled, the sooner they can support our patients.  To make that possible, Emma and Audrey have done everything from collecting candidates from the airport late at night, helping them get set up with meals and food when they arrive at their own expense and supporting them to sort bank accounts and national insurance numbers, to driving them to appointments, helping them find and settle in to their accommodation and acting as a point of contact during their initial arrival. This was all in addition to their day to day work.  Feedback from the international candidates about the two has been fantastic and it’s clear that without their commitment, our new recruits might not have felt so at home.

Student of the Year – Sponsored by GMB and Unison.

WINNER: Kyle Peebles
We began an apprenticeship scheme at NEAS in 2012.  Since then, we have trained 55 apprentices and our winning student of the year is former apprentice, Kyle Peebles.  The 20 year old from Gateshead, Kyle joined the Trust’s Patient Transport Service in April 2015, supporting patients to and from pre-planned hospital appointments.  Having started as an apprentice, within just 10 short months, Kyle’s passion for patients and strong work ethic meant he was the first apprentice to impress the Trust so much that he was offered the position even before he completed his apprenticeship.  This year alone, Kyle has been recognised at a regional heat of the National Apprenticeship Awards and has also been appointed recently as the Trust’s youngest ever staff governor.  ‘Everyone who meets Kyle Peebles loves him,’ and ‘He’s made us all realize how amazing our job is,’ are just two of the reasons people explain why they were nominating Kyle as our student of the year.  A manager at Gateshead station says that ‘from the offset, everybody commented to on about how good Kyle was - he was an absolute natural with our patients, especially dementia patients, which struck me as quite unusual for someone of his age. He even did an impromptu carol service for a day centre, playing Christmas carols on the piano.  He’s naturally gifted, funny and just a generally nice young lad.”  Now a mentor for others and passing on his valuable approach to the job, one of the people he now supports is already reaping the rewards of being under Kyle’s wing and in their nomination wrote ‘Thank you for choosing him to be my mentor!’.
Highly Commended: Jessica Hepworth
Business Admin Apprentice Jess Hepworth started work with NEAS last September within the Clinical Care and Patient Safety department.  Quick to learn and extremely helpful, in the last year Jess’s confidence and skills have improved tremendously and she has worked closely with other teams.  She’s been heavily involved in supporting the launch of a Sign up to Safety campaign - a national campaign to strengthen patient safety in the NHS.  She also supported the infection prevention and control team with the swabbing of ambulances as part of an infection prevention and control audit, which monitored the cleanliness of ambulances, having a direct and positive outcome, helping us to provide safer care to patients.  Jess has now also now secured a permanent position at the Trust.

Outstanding Mentor

WINNER: Trevor Ulph
Trevor first experienced the patient transport service when he was a full time carer for his son, Jonny, travelling with him to and from appointments for treatment.  A former bus driver, Trevor was so taken with the service, when the opportunity arose, he decided to apply so that he could give back some of the care and compassion that he and his son had received, to others.  Trevor has been the mentor for Patient Transport Service apprentices at Gateshead station for two years, during which time he has mentored 2 apprentices who have both gone on to win the coveted NHS North of England apprentice of the year as well as securing permanent positions with the Trust.  Trevor takes his role as a mentor extremely seriously, taking his time to bring on the apprentices with a cool and level headed approach.  With Trevor’s guidance, the people he supported are given a good grounding so that they become first rate employees within NEAS, which has a positive knock on affect to patient care.  Some of the things Trevor’s apprentices say of their mentor in their nominations, “I did a little fist pump when Trevor said ‘I’m your mentor’ because of how welcome he made me feel - everyone knows how daunting it is starting somewhere a new job”, “Trevor took me through everything, showing me easy, but the right way, to do things, including how to deal with certain situations and how to spot safeguarding issues”, “Trevor has continued to support me not only in work time but out of work time as well and I think that deserves an award in its self because he’s not getting paid for it and that just shows what type of man he is!”, “He is a mentor but he is also a role model”, “Every patient was over the moon when Trevor and I turned up to their door - he is the face of NEAS and patients love him!”, “Trevor still continues to give me advice even though I'm now in emergency care. He taught me the true meaning of caring for each and every patient and treating everyone the same, using the 6 C's along the way”, “Trevor not only goes out the way for staff members but for the patients, taking time out of his shift to make sure patients are safe at home and comfortable throughout their journey.”  His legacy doesn’t stop there.  For those of you who don’t know Trevor, he’s not only mentored some of our finest apprentices, but his inspiration began much closer to home, where his daughter Sarah first considered joining the Trust as well.  Now serving as a paramedic, having been with the service for eight years, Sarah is possibly the most proud of Trevor, who will forever be her hero.
Highly commended: Amanda Graham
Amanda has been an asset to the apprenticeship scheme within the South and goes above and beyond the role to support the apprentices.  She has a willingness to share skills, knowledge and expertise and with her positive attitude, she is a great role model.  She values on going learning and growth in the field and provides guidance and constructive feedback to the apprentices to help them develop and progress within the role, which is vital to ensuring we have suitably trained staff who embody our values and make a difference.  Amanda attends many career events and has used her own initiative to go into colleges in her own time to help raise awareness of the opportunity.  This has been a huge success, highlighting NEAS a great employer and creating new networks for the trust.

Innovation of the year, Sponsored by Ferno

WINNER: Trauma Team
The Trust’s trauma team was created in 2012 and has consistently undertaken extra duties and research to improve patient care throughout the Northern Trauma Network and North East Ambulance Service.  The team work in partnership with other agencies to promote public health, developing pre-hospital knowledge in trauma workshops and multi-discipline working.  This has improved patient outcomes for those patients experiencing major trauma.  Using contemporary research into major trauma, the team have challenged preconceived paradigms in major trauma and changed current trauma care practices, much of which has been undertaken by staff using their own initiative and in their own time.  Since the development of the team, North East Ambulance Service has exceeded national expectations with regard to trauma care at a regional and national level.  In the most recent peer review of national and regional major trauma services, NEAS was one of only three services to have 100% compliance with no significant concerns or immediate risks. More lives are being saved each year due to improved trauma care and bypassing local hospitals for definitive care at Major Trauma Centres.

Highly commended: Integrated Care and Transport (ICaT)
Integrating care and transport (ICaT) is the first project of its type within the English Ambulance Service.  NEAS began a trial of the project two years ago and we are now looking to identify a new operational and clinical model that will enable the Trust to integrate emergency care and patient transport services throughout the region, which will revolutionise how we deliver services to patients.  As part of the project, we recently introduced Advanced Practitioners, which are paramedics who can now prescribe more medication to patients.  Their role is enabling frontline crews to see and treat more patients at home and refer on to different NHS services.  Integrated care and transport crews are available to back up Advanced Practitioners, end of life and mental health patients and low acuity patients.  Teaming up members of staff from emergency care and patient transport service as ICaT crews to attend to such patients, ensures that patients still receive professional compassionate care and transport, where necessary, from staff trained to treat people with dignity.  The integrated model of transport also provides enhanced bariatric provision for patients.  Testament to the success of the project, are the satisfaction rates for patient experience, which have been extremely high.   As a result of the project, we are seeing a reduced need for patients to attend an emergency department and more frontline emergency care crews are available for seriously ill patients.  The model also creates a far smoother career path for anyone joining the trust to work towards an emergency care role.

Unsung Hero - Sponsored by Ferno

WINNER: Iain Scott
Emergency Care Assistant in Berwick, Iain Scott starts every shift 20 minutes early, or stays back 20 minutes late to be sure that his vehicle is prepared for the next shift, which minimises the amount of time the vehicle needs to be off the road for things like restocking. Iain runs the station social fund and tea fund in his own time, which contributes greatly to station morale. He utilises every minute of his spare time on station, controlling stores, and ensuring station admin is up to date and available to staff.  Iain keeps all staff ESR numbers and books on to the vehicle for his colleagues and places their equipment on the vehicle, before they even arrive on station.  He is described as always going the extra mile for patients.  He is well known to all our locals, and on many occasions has called upon patients to convey messages, personal belongings or even check on their pets, all in his own time, without thought for himself.   Ian has sacrificed his meal breaks on several occasions, in order to attend emergency calls, often going many hours without a break.  He never complains.  In winter months even pre warms the vehicle for vulnerable elderly patients.  His used his persuasive charm recently to encourage a reluctant patient with a life threatening illness to travel to hospital, by volunteering his own time to assist with the patient’s welfare requests, which probably saved the life of the patient involved.  Often going beyond the call of duty, Iain is one in a million, a truly ‘unsung’ hero.
Highly commended: Tom Cuthbertson
Tom is a dedicated fundraiser, who has raised over £180,000 for the Brothers in Arms charity since 2008.  Tom’s son Nathan was tragically killed whilst serving in Afghanistan for the British army in 2008 and determined not going to let the memory of his son die, he decided to do something positive in his name, to help other military personnel and their families.  Despite working full time and studying for a degree, Tom has become an ambassador for past and present military personnel and their families.  For the past eight years Tom has organised a charity bike ride from Catterick Garrison to Sunderland, with at most, over 200 riders taking part.  His hard work has helped to fund his dream of a memorial wall in Sunderland, which will honour military personnel killed in action - one of the 1st of its kind in the country.  Not happy to stop there, he is now ploughing all his energy into Sunderland Veteran’s Walk.  Tom is described as an extra ordinary individual with a huge determination and desire to succeed in everything he does.  He is greatly admired greatly for the work he does in the local community and always going the extra mile to make a difference to improve the lives and wellbeing patients during his day job.  He is immensely proud to work for NEAS, a genuine, caring colleague and much valued member of our team.

Volunteer of the Year - Sponsored by Ferno

WINNER: Martin Spruce
Community First Responder Seahouses, Martin Spruce is 64 and lives in Bamburgh. Self-employed as an electrician, Martin makes himself available every hour of every day to respond to patients when needed in his local area.  Whatever his circumstances when the calls come, Martin downs tools and goes to help save a life, with the support of his many customers.  If that wasn’t enough, in the last six years of responding, Martin has also raised money for seven defibrillators for his area that can be called upon when someone’s life is in danger. And knowing what a difference good CPR can make in those early minutes to a patient’s survival, he also trains people in life saving skills at events on behalf of NEAS. When asked why he does it, in his words, he explains, “I love doing it. I care about people and the appreciation you get is tremendous. When I walk in they are frantic but when they see me, it’s the relief of having someone there. It’s down to us to do what we can until the ambulance arrives. I comfort people and I do my best. It’s not always easy, especially when I’m doing CPR on someone I know, but then the family come back to me and tell me what it means to them. I did CPR on one lady for an hour and shocked her four times and she was talking to her daughter that night. When you’re able to do that, it’s really special.”  Martin is very enthusiastic and a committed Community First Responder who believes in what he does for his community and for the trust and volunteers his time and skills to make a difference, day in, day out.

Highly commended: Pam Clouston
Pam was one of the first community responders for the rural area of Northumberland and has been responding to emergencies for the NEAS for 15 years.  She is always available via pager whenever at home in Rothbury and will often respond to assist paramedics any time, night or day. She has gained so much experience over the years and no situations seem to faze her. Her patient care is a pleasure and she has helped many local residents with her years of service.  Now a friend to NEAS staff in the area and supports us with no hesitation whenever she can.  Pam’s experience makes her competent in assisting patients in emergency situations and she is always keen to learn, keeping herself up to date with first aid and AED training.  She is an asset to her community and our service as a whole.

Team of the year – Sponsored by Ferno

WINNER: Driver Training
Ambulance staff drive millions of miles on the region’s roads each year and the safety of them, our patients and other road users is one of our highest priorities.  The Trust has five driver trainers who work tirelessly with all operational staff at some point, from apprentices starting out, to international colleagues working to become compliant with the requirements of the UK highways.   They include Kevin Curry, Dave Bulmer, Tom Fortune, Ray Forsyth & Mick Nichol.  Driver training is the foundation stone of all of the training that we do for new staff coming into the Trust.  The driver training team are often the first members of staff new recruits come into contact with and the professionalism, pride and commitment of what they do embodies the Trust’s Mission, Vision and Values, enabling staff to provide a patient centred service.  The Team train approximately 250 staff each year working from Lanchester Road Hospital.  They carry out pre-employment assessments for recruitment, deliver driver training programmes for every bit of the organisation and vehicle familiarisation to a high standard.  The team provides a highly visible means of publicity for the organisation covering over 60 thousand, high speed miles per year, with few, if any, collisions.  And due to the nature of the training, the team often come across other road traffic collisions where they can be first on scene to manage an incident until the arrival of an emergency care crew.
Highly commended: Proud
In late 2014 the North East ambulance Service had no LGBT staff network and were ranked 224th in Stonewall top 100 employers Workplace Equality Index rankings.  A small number of staff came together to set up a staff network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender staff which was later named Proud@NEAS.  The network was launched in early 2015 to assist in the creation of a more cohesive and visible LGBT community within NEAS and North East region, to support and contribute to NEAS’ equality agenda in relation to employment and service delivery and to provide confidential support and information for any member of staff regarding LGBTQ matters.  The group has been heavily involved in influencing policy, decision making and change across the Trust. It has a good membership base and offers a range of different opportunities to get involved and as a result there has been a positive cultural change, a reduction in dignity at work issues, greater internal and external visibility and awareness, improved information and knowledge and more support for managers and colleagues.

Senior Manager – Sponsored by GMB and Unison

WINNER: Clare Graham
Clare Graham is one of the Trust’s Emergency Care Clinical Managers, supporting a team of emergency care staff at the front line.  This year Clare has supported the delivery of a new electronic patient care record and zoll defibrillator training programme for 1400 operational staff.  Regularly delivering training on her days off, Clare’s keenness has meant thatthe quality of training was delivered to an extremely high standard, which made the transition to a new system a lot easier, ensuring that patient records are completed well and ultimately improving patient outcomes in the long term.  Her willingness to understand the system inside out meant that she was able to pass on her knowledge on training courses and out on the road if necessary.  Clare is described in one nomination as having positively influenced a number of staff at Pallion following episodes of difficult absence from work for complicated medical reasons and bereavement and she herself was responsible for making a number of nominations for her colleagues and other parts of the trust, keen to ensure the work of others was highlighted.  Others reflected on Clare as approachable, professional, caring, compassionate, knowledgeable, forward thinking and always going the extra mile to support staff. She regularly contacts and supports staff outside of her contractual working hours, understands the current difficulties within emergency care and is always forthcoming with suggestions to make improvements to give a first class service for patients.  Amongst the many nominations for Clare was one from her husband, who, despite accepting he is completely biased, explains, “I know that Clare would bleed green if you cut her.  She is an ECCM 24 hours a day – often leaving me a lonely husband, but I wouldn't change it - I sit and admire her enthusiasm.  She won’t have a bad word said against the service; she fights tooth and nail to get a positive outcome.”  He believes the service would be a lot worse off without Clare and was crossing his fingers in the lead up to the awards ceremony in the hope that she would be recognised by the for all her hard work. 
Highly commended: Claire Jobling
Claire was singled out in this year’s nominations for the magnificent support she has given her colleagues through difficult personal circumstances.  Her caring and approachable nature is credited for helping them become the people they are today.  Claire’s colleagues wanted to speak on everyone’s behalf to recognise her for her genuine far reaching support for their team, who have experienced a number of difficult personal circumstances over the past few years, including the loss of family members, family breakdowns and ill health.  Knowing how difficult it can be to juggle work commitments and personal upheaval, they felt recognition at staff awards was the perfect way to show her that what she does every day is appreciated.  Having ‘perfected the balance between supporting and valuing every member of her team and following process’, Claire is considered to be honest and going ‘above and beyond’ to support staff to manage work commitments during difficult times in their lives.  She is highly respected for having worked hard when she was on the road and has a unique ability to recognise when her staff become disheartened and support them when problems arise.  One said, “It may seem like this manager was simply doing her job, but the right amount of understanding, humanity, empathy and compassion, coupled with her endless support has not only helped me through a massive transitional period, but helped me find the strength to not only return to work but to set up a support page for other people suffering with mental health problems.”  Described as a brilliant coach and mentor, Claire is also recognised as helping other frontline managers with expert guidance that will help them give the same level of support to others, whilst respecting them as developing leaders within the organisation.

Public nomination – Sponsored by GMB and Unison

WINNER: Alan Jobson
A particularly special endorsement of our staff, Newcastle City Council workers Rachael Hope and Fiona Richardson, recently nominated Alan Jobson for a staff award. Having first met Alan ten years ago to support the development and delivery of an overdose awareness course for staff, drug users and their carers, the two have more recently worked with Alan to develop a number of courses, most notably the roll out of 'take home Naloxone' for risk groups in Newcastle.  Alan produces and delivers good quality training, which has meant that Newcastle City Council has continued investing in various programmes and projects with the Trust. Alan's contribution to partnership developments such as ‘Naloxone’ has meant that as a city, they have been able to produce an evidence based project which is enabling better management of overdose situations by individuals, workers and statutory organisations such as Northumbria Police and ultimately, hopefully reduce the numbers of drug related deaths.  Those participating in the training are now more skilled and confident in the delivery of basic life support and his training continuously supports the breaking down of barriers, misconceptions and stereotypes and supports those involved in or witnessing an overdose situation the confidence to call for an ambulance in situations where they may not have otherwise done so.  Alan's knowledge, skills and attitude, whilst taking into account the stigma associated with the drugs and the wide variety of stakeholders and partners involved, has meant that he has supported delivery of training to over 2000 people in the city.  All participants, whether users, carers or workers, have evaluated his training positively and consistently fed back improvements to their practice because of Alan's passionate, non-judgemental and often humorous training style, all of which have been delivered whilst Alan himself has not been in the best of health.  If Alan knew that he was being nominated for an award he would be mortified, and state that he was just doing his job but in reality, he always goes over and above what would be reasonably expected of someone in this role.

Highly commended: Trevor Ulph and Alan McKay
Fondly known as Gateshead 2 crew, Trevor Ulph and Alan McKay were nominated by a patient who has used the Patient Transport Service for over a year and expects to be doing so for the foreseeable future.  Patient Denise Cuthbertson has mobility problems and explains that the Gateshead 2 Crew always arrive on time to collect her to take her to appointments, so she doesn’t feel as stressed on arrival, and they always seem to be at the hospital ready to pick her to bring her home again.  She describes the two as incredibly patient and supportive and nominated them because she wanted to pass on her gratitude to them for being so understanding.  Like many PTS patients, she lives on her own and rarely gets out because of her mobility but when Gateshead 2 crew pick her up, she says, ‘It’s like having a friend. It is really nice to see someone different to talk to. I look forward to being transported to my appointments. It is the only time I get a ride out.  All crews are great but I have found the Gateshead Crew 2 are the best - I hope you will continue to transport me to my appointments because I look forward to our chats.”

Chairman’s award – Sponsored by Ward Hadaway

WINNER:
Emergency Care Operations Manager, Colin Gibson made the nomination for this year’s Chairman’s Award. 
In it, he tells the story of a much loved and valued member of staff and the strength of teamwork he witnessed during an incident in January this year.
During the incident, a group of our emergency care staff were faced with an impossible task when they came together that day.
It began when rapid response paramedic Chris Allen, aged 54, from Middlebrough was called to an injured worker who was in the bottom of a dry dock, having fallen from a height, on the river Tees. 
Soon after Chris arrived on scene, a double crewed ambulance arrived to support Chris and transport the patient.  However, as fate would have it, whilst treating the patient, Chris collapsed, leaving the crew to manage both patients between them.  They requested back up from control and an operations manager, air support and two further crews responded to the complicated scene.
Rescued from the drop by a crane, paramedic Michelle Gray accompanied Chris in the cradle to support his airway, as he was lifted to safety.
There, Chris was treated by the air support doctor and quickly transported by road under police escort, to hospital, to give him the best chance.  Unfortunately, Chris later passed away at James Cook Hospital, though his patient survived.
Making up the team on that fateful day were Paramedics Steve Pearson and Michelle Gray, student paramedics Dave Martin and Stella Forest, emergency care assistant Tony Clark, emergency care technician Linda Turner and emergency care assistant Paul Mason and with support from GNAAS.  Supporting the team during the incident and since, were operations managers Colin Gibson, who co-ordinated events on that day and Claire Jobling, whose job it was to support the staff and Colin through their sad loss and the trauma of the event.
Despite the fact that they were treating one of their own, on duty and in uniform, each member of the team remained extremely calm and gave Chris the best of care and showed the utmost professionalism in an extremely unique and tense situation - something that the family have taken great comfort from.

Although losing such a much loved and well-respected member of the NEAS family has been a great shock to those who knew Chris, the Trust is extremely proud of the way everyone supported each other during and following the incident, through such a difficult time.
Sorely missed, Chris started his career at North East Ambulance Service on Patient Transport Service in 1985 and qualified as a paramedic in 1990, initially based at Middlesbrough and later moving to rapid response at Redcar.  He was also an active Unison representative.  He was popular amongst his colleagues and has left a huge gap in the team. 
A letter from Chris’s brother Mike, written on behalf of his family, was published by the Gazette to thank everyone who tried to save Chris, including his NEAS colleagues, the air ambulance crew and the hospital staff.
It said: “If the large brain haemorrhage hadn’t been so severe, I’m sure with all the care Chris received at the scene and the fast transportation to the hospital, he would have survived.  It has been a difficult time for the whole family but it’s important we pass on our thanks to all those involved in trying to save Chris.”