Celebrating the Stars of EEAST

Staff and volunteers with the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) who go the extra mile to deliver outstanding services to their patients and colleagues have been honoured for their hard work and commitment.

The Stars of EEAST awards ceremony took place virtually last night. The winners included: 

• Keith Marshall Award for Distinguished Service – Mike Vorndran, community first responder, for providing nearly 4,000 of voluntary on-call hours to EEAST in just one year and maintaining the public defibrillators in Needham Market and the surrounding areas.

 

• Lynne Storrie Award (recognising an exceptional student) – Chris Ford from Essex, for the praise he has received from the families of patients he has attended.

 

• Trust Value Award for Teamwork – North Bedfordshire LOM team, for supporting each other and their teams both inside and out of work.

 

• Trust Value Award for Quality – Des White from Essex, who has delivered an excellent quality of care and service to patients and colleagues during more than 20 years with EEAST.

 

• Value Award for Respect – Esther Shawe from Essex, who leads EEAST’s Disability Network and has helped train managers to think differently and act on inequalities.

 

• Trust Value Award for Care – Lee Umpleby from Essex, who colleagues describe as an “amazing role model and a true inspiration, who helps people when they need it the most.”

 

• Excellence in Patient Care – Jack Walker from Norfolk, who dealt with several challenging calls during his first six weeks as a qualified paramedic, including cardiac arrests and severe allergic reactions.

 

• Excellence in Professional Development – Kerrie Wykes from Peterborough, who has given up her own time to hold maternity masterclasses for colleagues to improve the care provided to mums-to-be.

 

• Excellence in Leadership Award – Joe Cartwright from South Bedfordshire, who was nominated three times for working exceptionally hard to support staff and boost morale during busy and stressful periods.

 

• Excellence in Community Partnership – Daniel Jacobs, who coordinates the Felixstowe Community First Responder group and has increased volunteer numbers from seven to 19.

 

• Excellence in Innovation – Electronic Patient Care Record (EPCR) team, for rolling out iPads across the Trust to give all frontline staff access to clinical information safely and securely.

 

• Team of the Year Award – COVID-19 leads, who have supported colleagues who are shielding by arranging shopping and medication deliveries while staying in touch with those who live alone.

 

• Volunteer of the Year Award – Norfolk Students’ Welfare Bus, which is run by students volunteers and offers free refreshments and snacks for EEAST staff waiting to handover patients at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

Tom Abell, EEAST chief executive, said: “Over the past eighteen months, our people have played a pivotal role in providing outstanding care for patients across the east of England. Both those on the frontline and our support staff have risen to the challenge – this event was the perfect opportunity to recognise some of their fantastic achievements and say thank you.

“The awards gave us the chance to recognise those members of our team who have gone above and beyond for their patients and colleagues. During the evening we were lucky enough to hear some inspirational stories of courage and compassion, as well as demonstrations of kindness and dedication.

“All of our finalists epitomise the Trust values of quality, honesty, respect, care and teamwork, which is especially impressive as they have been working in the midst of a pandemic and at a time when our service is under more pressure than ever before.”

Each of the finalists received a goodie bag filled with items donated by local companies, including Adnams, Fairfields Crisps, Stokes Sauces, Tiptree and Dorset Cereal.

EEAST will present long service awards to its staff at regional events in the spring.