Opportunity to thank ambulance workers for outstanding care as part of annual awards ceremony

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) will be running its annual awards, ‘In the Spotlight’, in June – and is looking for nominations from patients who want to recognise those who have come to their aid.

Have you received outstanding care from someone at North East Ambulance Service that you think deserves to be recognised?

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) will be running its annual awards, ‘In the Spotlight’, in June – and is looking for nominations from patients who want to recognise those who have come to their aid.

Nominations close on 31 March. To make a nomination for the Patient Choice Award, visit www.neas.nhs.uk/your-service/patient-feedback/nominate-our-staff

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The In the Spotlight Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions of employees and volunteers who embody the Trust’s vision of ‘unmatched quality of care for every life we touch.’

NEAS employs more than 3,000 people, who touch the lives of thousands of patients across the North East every day in a variety of ways, including:

• Health advisors answering 111 or 999 calls within the Emergency Operations Centre
• Clinicians supporting patients over the phone within the Emergency Operations Centre
• Ambulance care assistants, transporting patients to and from pre-planned hospital appointments, including dialysis and chemotherapy
• Integrated care assistants, supporting patients who need urgent transportation to hospital but do not require an emergency ambulance
• Clinical care assistants, technicians and paramedics working on emergency ambulances, who provide urgent and emergency pre-hospital care
• Advanced practitioners, who provide care to patients who are unwell and need urgent treatment but do not need to go to hospital
• Community paramedics, who work alongside the GP teams to make a huge difference within their local areas
• Community resuscitation and positive action officers, who work within local communities to equip them with life-saving skills and knowledge
• The commercial training team, who deliver bespoke training to local communities.
• An army of volunteers, including community first responders, volunteer porters, and ambulance car service drivers, who provide a service to their community for free.

NEAS Chief Executive, Helen Ray said: “Our people play a really important role in the lives of North East residents every day, whether it be answering 999 or 111 calls, giving clinical care or patient transport, or supporting the front line with everything from fleet, recruitment and finances to occupational health and information technology.

“We regularly receive positive feedback from patients and their families for the fantastic work they do. They don’t do it for the praise, but receiving any thanks means the absolute world to them.

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“It’s important to us that our people feel valued and recognised for their hard work, and our annual awards ceremony is one of the ways we do this. Over recent years they have been held online as a result of the pandemic, so we’re really pleased to be able to bring them back to an in-person event this year and celebrate our achievements as one team.

“Given our patients are the reason why we are all here, it’s important to us to include the patient voice in our awards. The Patient Choice Award recognises teams or individuals who have made a difference to a patient, their relatives or friends, having clearly demonstrated their passion for putting patient care at the heart of everything they do.

Last year, Billy Turnbull, Linda Gibson, Maurice Kitcatt and Emmelia Dunn, a team from Hexham station, won the Patient Choice Award for their patient focussed approach and the ability of keeping the patient safe while getting her to a hospice for end-of-life care.

The patient who made the nomination stated the whole experience felt safe – from the call handler to the team who attended, and all involved had an incredible impact to the patient and their close friends.

Health Advisor, Billy Turnbull said: "I start my new role as a newly qualified paramedic next week and this recognition has made me more determined to progress within the ambulance service and continue to try my best to deliver the care that the patient needs."