Inspiring ambulance staff celebrated
Scottish Ambulance Service staff and volunteers from across the country were celebrated at the Service’s annual awards last night for their dedication and commitment.
Sponsored by the Ortus Group and supported by Gama Aviation, the annual event – this year held at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh – saw more than 190 nominations from individuals and teams competing for awards in 10 different categories.
Winners included:
· The Save a Life For Scotland team, who announced this year that 500,000 people in Scotland are now CPR ready;
· Sandra Stark, described as the “backbone” of the Paediatric Retrieval Team at SCOTSTAR;
· Shetland based paramedic, Kaylee Garrick, who along with her beloved dogs has been teaching CPR to hundreds of people;
· William Shaw, who has worked for 46 years providing an exceptional service.
Pauline Howie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said:
“Last night’s Staff and Volunteer Awards recognised and celebrated the achievements of a most impressive group of people who are all incredible ambassadors for our Service.
"On behalf of the entire Executive Team and our Board, I would like to extend my most heartfelt congratulations and thanks to all of the winners and runners up.
“Although they represent a diverse range of skills and experience, everyone nominated shares an ethos of striving to deliver excellence in order to deliver the best possible care for our patients throughout the year.
“We know though that this is just the tip of the iceberg – last night’s winners and finalists represent only those members of staff, volunteers and teams who were nominated; good quality work and dedication takes place across the Service every day of the year and I would like to thank every member of staff who helps make SAS what it is.
“Thank you also to the Ortus Group and Gama Aviation for their amazing support on what was a fantastic night.”
Tom Steele, Chair of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said:
“Congratulations to the finalists, award winners, and also those who were shortlisted – these awards really showcased the diverse range of professions and departments at the Ambulance service who work, day in and day out, to provide the very best care for patients across Scotland.
“One of the real highlights of this year’s awards was to have patients attend and meet with the crews who went above and beyond the call of duty. The winners of the Chairman’s Patient Award all thoroughly deserve to be recognised for their efforts and this incredible story is just a small sample of what our crews do across Scotland each day.”
Craig Hall, Managing Director of the Ortus Group, said: "We had a brilliant night celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the Scottish Ambulance Service staff and volunteers. Congrats to all the finalists and winners, the work they do to go above and beyond the call of duty is commendable and truly inspirational.
"It is great to have this new partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service. We are delighted to be working with the Service to enhance the patient care across all emergency fleet vehicles throughout Scotland with the introduction of the Corpuls3 defibrillator. The roll out for installation started this week for all road and air ambulance services, and is scheduled for completion across the whole of Scotland by the end of March 2020."