Ambulance staff receive Queen's Medals
“My journey has been amazing, I love my job immensely.
“There has been so many memorable moments. From births to sitting and holding someone’s hand in their final moments. Lots of little moments that all add up to make this one of the best jobs in the world. I wouldn’t do anything else” – Ellen Scott
Eleven members of staff at the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) have been presented with the Queen’s Medal for their long service on the frontline.
In total, Andrew Cleland, Linda Craggs, Nigel Dawson, Christine Emms, Iain Hendy, Christopher Richardson, Ellen Scott, Mark Scott, Julie Tait, Malcolm Turnbull and Gavin Wells have served on the ambulance frontline for more than 200 years.
The Ambulance Service (Emergency Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal has been designed for emergency ambulance staff who have worked on the frontline for more than 20 years.
The medals were presented on behalf of Her Majesty by the Lord Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear, Mrs Susan Winfield, OBE. She said: “I am delighted to present these 11 members of the North East Ambulance Service with the Queen's Medal for long service. This is truly well-deserved recognition of their loyal and dedicated work and for which I warmly thank them.
"I would also like to extend my thanks and appreciation to their colleagues across the region for all they do for our communities by providing medical assistance at times of emergency."
NEAS Chief Executive Helen Ray said: “We’re very lucky to have such dedicated people at the ambulance service. They have provided decades of work, helping hundreds and thousands of people across the region when they most needed medical assistance. They should be very proud of their achievement.”
Berwick:
Andrew Cleland from Duns, Berwickshire.
County Durham:
Iain Hendy from Peterlee, Nigel Dawson from Sacriston, Linda Craggs from Waterhouses, Malcolm Turnbull from Spennymoor and Mark Scott from Bishop Auckland.
Wearside:
Gavin Wells from Concord, Washington and Christopher Richardson from South Hylton in Sunderland.
Teesside:
Christine Emms from Hemlington in Middlesbrough, Julie Tait from Grangefield, Stockton-on-Tees and Ellen Scott from Ingleby Barwick.
In the previous five years 49 frontline ambulance staff have been awarded the Queen’s Medal.
Notes to editors
Notes to editors
Attached are photos of the 11 recipients along with the Lord Lieutenant, NEAS chairman Peter Strachan, chief executive Helen Ray and chief operating officer Paul Liversidge. Photos of individual recipients are also available.
For more information, contact the NEAS press office on 07559 918672 or email publicrelations@neas.nhs.uk
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 2,600 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS111 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 2017/18 the service answered over 1.4 million emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls, responded to 280,00 incidents that resulted in a patient being taken to hospital, treated and discharged 27,000 patients with telephone advice and treated and discharged over 100,000 patients at home. In the same year, clinical crews responded to 126,746 of our highest priority patients within the national targets and scheduled care crews completed almost 580,000 patient transport journeys.