Photos courtesy of West Midland Ambulance Service
PRESS RELEASE
West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
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Friday 8th November 2013 – 3.20pm – Chris Kowalik.
Award winners from Herefordshire and Worcestershire and their citations:
EXCELLENCE IN THE COMMUNITY AWARDS – HEREFORDSHIRE & WORCESTERSHIRE
Volunteer of the Year Award 2013: Loraine Coleman from ‘Herefordshire Heartstart’
Our headline Volunteer of the Year Award goes to someone who actually received recognition at last year’s event. This year she is collecting the highest award for her outstanding work as a co-ordinator for the ‘Herefordshire Heartstart’ project. This person works tirelessly to provide training to all local communities and schools across the county. In fact since her last appearance at these awards over 30,000 people, including all schools in Herefordshire have received HeartStart training and this has been verified by the British Heart Foundation. This is a magnificent effort and worthy of this award.
Ian Painter Area Development Manager for the British Heart Foundation said: “I would also like to congratulate Loraine on her award and the enthusiasm and training she has provided for the people in Herefordshire. Teaching young people how to save a life is as important as learning to read and write and we think it’s essential for every young person to leave school knowing Emergency Life Support skills (ELS). They are skills which equip young people for real situations they might face in their lives.”
An awards ceremony has been held to honour members of the public from across the West Midlands region who have gone beyond the call of duty to help save lives and support the work of West Midlands Ambulance Service’s 4,000 staff.
The event, sponsored by Cardiac Science, Ferno UK and SP Services at the Best Western Plus Stoke-on-Trent Moat House on Thursday 7th November recognised the efforts of Community First Responders, St John Ambulance, other emergency services and other voluntary organisations, businesses and individuals.
Addressing the audience, West Midlands Ambulance Service Chief Executive Anthony Marsh said: “Tonight is a celebration to say a really big thank-you to all of you and your colleagues for what you do on a regular basis to help and support the ambulance service here in the West Midlands but, more importantly, to provide the very best care that you consistently do on a daily basis to save as many lives as we can. It’s not by accident that West Midlands Ambulance Service is one of the best performing ambulance services in our country. That takes an awful lot of hard work, not just by our own staff that we employ but also by the volunteers. Over two thousand volunteers work on a regular basis to support the ambulance service here in the West Midlands and I am really grateful for all the support that you provide. I would like to add my personal thanks to your partners and your families for the support they give you. I know that what you do is held in very high regard and I am really proud of the work that you do.”
The Trust’s Chairman, Sir Graham Meldrum turned to poetry to pay tribute:
“Turned to poetry: Oh volunteers come ye may
Serving the communities both night and day
I’d like to speak on behalf of all the nation
And thank-you for your dedication.”
Presenting some of the awards Susie Lillingston, the High Sheriff of Staffordshire said: “The ambulance service is under increasing pressure every day and as volunteers you have an exceptional role as you help in so many different ways. All of you are invaluable and essential services for which we, the general public, are very grateful. Let’s not forget those who do the fundraising which is a thankless task but without which much of the work some of you do just wouldn’t be possible.”
Ends
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For more information about Herefordshire Heartstart, visit www.herefordshireheartstart.org
Chris Kowalik
Communications Officer
West Midlands Ambulance Service
01384 246496
07909 528550 (out of hours)
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West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Waterfront Business Park
Brierley Hill
West Midlands, DY5 1LX
Press Office: 01384 246 496
On-call Press Officer: 07909 528 550
Recorded Newsline: 0871 873 2892
