Volunteers awarded for their voluntary service
Sixty nine North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) volunteers have been awarded for their voluntary service at an annual awards ceremony.
Volunteer community first responders (CFR), ambulance car service drivers (ACS) and hospital porters play a vital role in helping the Trust deliver high quality patient care.
In the last year, 280 volunteers dedicated their time and committed 186,000 hours to the ambulance service.
The NEAS volunteer development team supports the volunteers and their work has enabled the Trust to become the first ambulance service to gain Investing in Volunteers accreditation.
This year’s awards ceremony, at Emirates Riverside Stadium in Chester le Street, on Wednesday 5 June, commended the dedication and commitment of individual volunteers that have been an instrumental support to the ambulance service, one of whom has volunteered for 25 years.
NEAS acting chief operating officer Victoria Court said, “The service values the support of all its volunteers and in the last year, some volunteers have been issued with new equipment and uniform. ACS drivers have had breakaway training and enhanced annual training in everything from equality and diversity, to data security and health and safety.
“CFRs have had training for non-injury fallers and how to help keep patients safe, as well as assisting clinicians in the emergency control room into decision making. CFR volunteers have also registered on Good Sam, which is a mobile app which can alert them to a nearby patient suffering a cardiac arrest.
“The Department of Health has asked NEAS to be the first in the country to trail the National Mobilisation App (NMA) with our CFRs, which enables critical communications between responding resources and control rooms.”
Some of the Trust’s volunteers are trained in offering lifesaving support and they are the community first responders (CFRs). CFRs are volunteers that are trained to deal with emergencies prior to the arrival of an ambulance, and can provide early life saving treatment in the first few crucial minutes of an emergency.
The service values the support of approximately 75 CFR’s who, last year, volunteered nearly 26,000 hours and attended to 1,269 patients across the region.
Volunteer community first responder (CFR) Ian Garrett from Durham, has volunteered for the Trust for 18 years, supporting frontline staff in life saving emergencies. Ian has volunteered over 12,000 hours and attended to 1000 patients during his time as a NEAS volunteer.
An incident that stands out for Ian is when a patient suffered a cardiac arrest at Durham University and being first on scene, he provided crucial lifesaving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to save the patient’s life before the ambulance crew and air ambulance arrived.
Ian said, “On arrival there was a member of the public giving CPR to the patient and they had even got a hold of an automatic external defibrillator (AED). I then started resuscitating the patient until the rest of the crew arrived.
“CFR’s are valuable and it just takes a job like this to keep us motivated to realise that the training we do is worthwhile. I am grateful to be a CFR and to be able to help patients in their time of need.
“I believe early CPR is one of the most important roles we carry out; to have the ability to help train and make members of the public aware of the importance of CPR and AED use. This will over time help our local community and will give people a better chance of survival. I am very proud to be part of a great NEAS CFR team and family.”
Ian contacted the University after the incident and they have decided to list all 20 AED’s they have around the campus so they can be accessed by the public.
Volunteer ACS drivers use their own vehicles to help transport patients to and from hospital, which keeps ambulances free for emergencies and for patients too poorly to travel by car.
Last year, ACS drivers volunteered approximately 155,000 hours of their time, completing more than 130,866 patient journeys and clocking up 3,830,585 miles. So far there are 25 ACS drivers volunteering their time for the ambulance service and a further 16 will shortly be arriving at the Trust.
Special recognition was awarded to ACS driver John Arkwright who received a long service award for his 25 years of outstanding voluntary contribution to the ambulance service. John, 72 years old from Peterlee, began volunteering for NEAS in 1994 after wanting to give something back to his local community.
John said, “I get to meet different people every day, helping transport patients to and from hospital who are sometimes very poorly. I’ve been volunteering for 25 years and even though it can be difficult when patients don’t have a good outcome, I really enjoy meeting patients and learn about them and their families. I regularly transport some patients and I look forward to seeing them on their next journey.”
Another vital voluntary role to the Trust is volunteer porters, who play an important part in escorting patients around hospital to their appointments. Porters are the first point of contact for non-life threatening patients and save the ambulance service nearly 600 hours per year, so that crew can be back out on the road saving lives.
Last year, the Trust’s porters volunteered over 5,500 shifts which equated to more than 30,000 hours and supported over 5,000 patients at five of the region’s hospitals. They also supported a further 2,500 members of the public to make sure they got to the right department for their appointment. So far there are six hospital porters volunteering at the Trust and eight more will be committing their time in the coming months. *see notes to editors.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering for the North East Ambulance Service, please follow this link: http://bit.ly/2wfysxe. You can also read more about the Trust gaining Investing in Volunteers recognition: http://bit.ly/2HxayUa and also find out more about the Good Sam app that is recognised worldwide: https://www.goodsamapp.org/home.
Notes to editors
Notes to editors
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.
*Special recognition awards for exceptional conduct:
John Arkwright – ACS driver – 25 years long service award - Peterlee
Volunteer ambulance car service driver John Arkwright has volunteered for the ambulance service for 25 years.
The 72 year old retired businessman, from Peterlee has dedicated his voluntary service to the Trust since 1994, transporting patients to and from their homes to hospital.
John wanted to give something back to his local community and thought he could do this as a volunteer ambulance car service driver for the North East Ambulance Service.
Best of all about his role, John likes meeting different people every day. Even though it can be difficult when patients are very poorly and have reoccurring appointments at the hospital, it brings him great comfort knowing he has helped them in some way. He also has many regular patients that he transports and enjoys getting to know them and their families.
Michael Padden – hospital porter - Highly commended for exceptional service whilst volunteering – North Tyneside
Fifty one year old Michael from North Tyneside has volunteered for the ambulance service as a hospital porter for three years.
Michael started volunteering back in 2016 after he was left with a brain injury after he had a serious accident at work in a skip yard in 2010.
After many months of treatment and rehab, Michael wanted to give something back to the community and that’s when he discovered the volunteer porter role.
As part of his rehabilitation process, Michael got to experience life as a porter and after his rehab was finished, he continued to volunteer as a hospital porter.
Volunteering for Michael has brought reams of confidence back into his life which he lost when he had his accident. Michael like meeting new people and feels this is his second chance at life. He has been a patient himself after his accident and now is a porter, helping patients in hospital and so has a very humble and grounding understanding of the compassionate care that all NEAS strives to achieve.
Peter Close – ACS driver - Highly commended for exceptional service whilst volunteering
Peter Close has volunteered as an ambulance car service driver for three years after joining the Trust in 2016.
Sixty eight year old Peter from Cullercoats in Whitley Bay, took up the opportunity to volunteer for a personal reason, very close to his heart.
The chartered surveyor has four grandchildren and two of which were born with conditions that required regular hospital stays and appointments. One grandchild has a severe combined immune deficiency and the other had a kidney malfunction that required a transplant.
After regular visits to the RVI, Peter got to speak to some of the volunteer porters and ambulance car service drivers, which sparked his ambition to help other people in a similar position and he and his family were in.
Due to the amount of journeys Peter and his family had to make, he appreciated the added strain of traveling to and from hospital for poorly patients. Which is why, after just taken partial retirement, he became an ambulance car service driver.
Peter welcomes the satisfaction of doing a volunteering activity with purpose for patients, hospital staff and NEAS frontline staff. He enjoys the variety and challenges that come with the role but also likes that his days can be flexible around his family commitments.
George Hall – ACS driver - above and beyond recognition
Volunteer ambulance car service driver George Hall, 57, has been volunteering for NEAS for the last seven years.
Ashington man George, is a retired psychiatric nurse where he worked for eight years at St George's Hospital in Morpeth before leaving in 1987 to join Northumbria Police, where for the last 15 years of his career, he worked as a dog handler before his retirement in 2011.
George chose to volunteer mainly because he had always worked in the public sector where he helped and supported people for many years.
There are many things about the role that George finds rewarding, including someone saying 'thank you', which is personally satisfying to him. He takes great pride in knowing that he has helped many patients who would have struggled to get to hospital without the service that NEAS, and all that are involved provides.
There are many patients that George meets every day that all have a different story to tell. One story that sticks in George’s mind is that of a gentleman he picked up in Amble, who had driven racing cars against Sir Jackie Steward just before he became a formula one world champion.
Alex Marshall – hospital porter - outstanding appreciation for exceptional service whilst volunteering
Twenty eight year old volunteer porter, Alex Marshall from Seaton Deleval in Northumberland has committed his time to volunteering for the last year, despite being autistic.
Alex chose to volunteer as a hospital porter at the RVI after the NHS helped members of his family. He wanted to support the NHS in any way he could after his dad had emergency heart surgery and what he remembers most, was the kind treatment he received from the staff.
Alex and his brother have ongoing medical problems and they both have autism. They find some situations difficult but feels the NHS has supported them whole heartedly and therefore wanted to give something back.
A few things that Alex likes most about his role is helping people and chatting to them to take their mind off any worries they might have with their appointments. He also enjoys talking to the staff who are good at listening to him when he gets anxious.
For Alex, being a volunteer makes him feel useful and he feels safe in the surroundings he is in, knowing he can receive support from any other the other staff or volunteers.
Ian Garrett – CFR – above and beyond recognition
Volunteer community first responder (CFR) Ian Garrett from Durham, has volunteered for the Trust for 18 years, supporting frontline staff in life saving emergencies. Ian has volunteered over 12,000 hours and attended to 1000 patients during his time as a NEAS volunteer.
An incident that stands out for Ian is when a patient suffered a cardiac arrest at Durham University and being first on scene, he provided crucial lifesaving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to save the patient’s life before the ambulance crew and air ambulance arrived.
When Ian arrived at the scene, there was a member of the public giving CPR to the patient and they had even got hold of an automatic external defibrillator (AED). He then started resuscitating the patient until the rest of the crew arrived.
Ian takes great pride in being a CFR and feels highly valued when he has made a significant difference to a patient. For Ian, it takes a job like this to keep him motivated to realise that the training he does is worthwhile. He takes great satisfaction in being able to help patients in their time of need.
After treating the patient at Durham University, Ian received a phone call from the wife of the patient to thank him and let him know that her husband was doing well and is back at home recovering.
Ian contacted the University after the incident and they have since decided to list all 20 automatic external defibrillators (AED’s) they have around the campus so they can be accessed by the public.
Bob Shields – ACS driver – Outstanding appreciation for exceptional service whilst volunteering
Bob Shields has volunteered for the Trust as an ambulance car service driver for 21 years and is commended for his exceptional service whilst volunteering.
The 66 year old retired police offer from Earsdon Village in North Tyneside grasped the opportunity of volunteering for the ambulance service to speak to new people and engage in the community. This was one of the things Bob enjoyed about his time in the police force and realised he could continue to do so through volunteering.
Sometimes patients have appointments very early in the morning which can be as early as 7am and Bob likes to get up early to transport these patients.
Bob transports some patients regularly including dialysis patients who need to travel three times a week, every week for their treatment which usually starts at 7am. Many have been traveling with Bob for many years and appreciate a friendly face on a journey that can sometimes be very difficult.
Often Bob will transport patients to far away destinations and in the past he has drove patients to Bristol, Brighton, Warminster and Essex. The journeys can be long and tiring but Bob knows how much patients greatly appreciate the comfortable car ride home after spending time in a hospital in the North East.
Bob highly recommends volunteering as an ambulance car service driver and said that it has been a pleasure to be part of the North East Ambulance Service for over twenty years.
Graeme Smith and David Cairns (Hartlepool scheme) – CFR’s - Highly commended for exceptional service whilst volunteering
Community first responders Graeme Smith and David Cairns have volunteered their time for nearly two years for the ambulance service.
Graeme and David make up the Hartlepool scheme, responding to life threatening emergencies in their local area and are highly committed to their role, dedicating over 200 hours to medical emergencies.
They recently completed The Future Qual’s pilot course which is a level 3 national certificate for CFR’s. They are also part of the NEAS CFR non-urgent falls team and received training on The Mangor Camel lifting device, Blood Pressure Cuff and Tympanic thermometer; all of which are crucial to lift the patient off the floor.
This is a new role within the CFR team and due to their dedication, they were picked to carry out the trail before the falls team was launched.
They have also attended the British Heart Foundation Heart Start and AED awareness instructor course so they can deliver courses to community groups within their area. They have since trained 365 people in total to deliver lifesaving CPR. This also included how to use a defibrillator to restart somebody’s heart who is in cardiac arrest.
Graeme and David are a credit to NEAS and work endlessly to promote awareness of the importance of bystander CPR, to increase a patient’s chance of survival.
Susan Bainbridge – CFR - outstanding appreciation for exceptional service whilst volunteering
Since volunteering as a NEAS community first responder for the last seven years, Susan Bainbridge decided to take up the role to support her local community in their times of need.
Based in Middleton in Teesdale, Susan has received ongoing training and responds from home or wherever she is within her active community.
Susan is always going the extra mile and is always looking to help NEAS and her local community. Through her skills and knowledge, she has been regularly teaching lifesaving CPR to schools and young people’s groups, helping them achieve their first aid badges.
Now retired, Susan is always available at peak times and is always keen on providing lifesaving immediate first aid in those vital minutes before an ambulance arrives.
She also volunteers in her local community gym which specialises in helping people start a fitness regime, after recovering from a long illness. People are referred by their doctor and Susan helps participants through various gym activities in a relaxed atmosphere to make it more fun for them, especially if they have never been to a gym before.
Susan always goes above and beyond her call of duty and often supports the Trust during peak demands including during winter, which is one of the most pressured times on resources for the Trust.