Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 18 May 2024 at 13:54
We’re pleased to announce the finalists for this year’s Stars of EEAST Awards, ahead of the ceremony next week, on Wednesday 5th July.
The judging panels have chosen the finalists for each category but now it’s over to you to choose the overall People’s choice award across all categories. Read about the finalists below and then vote for your favourite. The people’s choice vote closes at noon on Wednesday 5th July.
If you’ve been invited to the ceremony but are not able to make it or would like to get involved in celebrating the achievements of your colleagues, then please join us virtually. We will be sharing the link on Need to Know later this week.
A huge congratulations to all our finalists, they are:
The Lynne Storrie Award is presented to a chosen student/trainee, nominated by the training school as someone who has proved to be outstanding since they started. Lynne Storrie was a trainee paramedic who died in a road traffic collision on her way home from training school in 2001.
Despite facing both academic and personal adversity since starting his training programme, Naveed has remained engaged and enthusiastic throughout. Gracious and kind, he always checks in on his colleagues and is a great role model who leads by example.
Naveed’s culture is extremely important to him, and he often works with the faculty to come up with ideas to ensure diversity is acknowledged. Those around him say that Naveed deserves to go far and will continue to shine while representing all who overcome various challenges in life.
Lee continually leads by example and is described as “knowledgeable, engaged, enthusiastic, disciplined and always well prepared for what lies ahead”. As cohort rep, he has been consistently assertive yet eloquent when dealing with senior staff and is always happy to represent his colleagues and raise any concerns or queries they may have to help find solutions.
Lee has an exemplary attitude and all the elements of what makes a great paramedic and role model.
Nominees for this award are welcome for any community first responder (CFR) that has shown exceptional dedication and service to the Trust.
Stuart has put an enormous amount of time, effort and dedication into his work as a community first responder (CFR). He regularly mentors colleagues and successfully runs the Chelmsford car team while also working tirelessly for Danbury CFRs. Stuart takes the time to share his knowledge and expertise with others, teaching them valuable patient care skills and helping them to foster brilliant relationships with those around them.
Compassionate Stuart will always offer support to his teammates following difficult jobs, and works hard to make sure they are safe and well. Colleagues say: “Stuart deserves a commendation for everything he does. He is well-known and very well liked throughout the service and I haven’t met anyone else quite like him.”
Clive has proven himself to be “one of the most inspirational, professional and caring paramedics you could wish to meet” during an impressive 40-year career. Despite recently retiring, he remains dedicated to the service and plans to return part-time – much to the delight of his colleagues.
Clive is described as a “fantastic ambassador” for EEAST who has successfully managed incredible amounts of change during an unbelievable career. His nomination said: “Clive is one of the few who has managed to not only keep up, but can run rings round some of the younger medics. He is always there to offer support and guidance and is absolutely 110% deserving of this award.”
Nominees for this award are welcome for any volunteer that you feel deserves recognition for outstanding practice.
Christine has demonstrated a clear passion for volunteering during her years with EEAST. Starting off as a community first responder, she has gone onto embrace extra responsibilities and is now an active member of our Community Engagement Group and a local operations rep. Christine also manages to find the time to help train new CFR recruits.
Dedicated Christine has been instrumental in designing and developing an interactive platform to support new CFRs, which gives them the opportunity to get advice and ask questions, in turn offering reassurance and easing any worries they may have. She also went the extra mile to organise a recent CFR away day to give colleagues the chance to socialise, team build and share ideas.
Christine is described as a great advocate for volunteering and an “incredible asset” to EEAST.
Selfless Rachel goes above and beyond with the support she provides to our community first responders (CFRs). As well as responding herself, she completes much of the admin for her team, replenishes stock and coordinates all of the training for new starters. Colleagues say that Rachel works tirelessly in every area.
Steve is dedicated to serving his local community and works tirelessly to deliver excellent patient care day and night.
Although he should be enjoying his retirement, Steve willingly gives up his free time to run the Brightlingsea CFR group, train the team and arrange community events, as well as raising funds to pay for life-saving defibrillators.
Colleagues say Steve is hugely dedicated to his voluntary role and offers brilliant support to crews who are dealing with difficult jobs. He has been described as “local hero” whose town would be lost without him.
Nominees for this award should live our Trust values – Care, Trust, Respect, Honesty, Teamwork. There will be an award for each Trust value.
ECAT assistant Owen always performs his duties to the very highest standards by completing diligent welfare calls and fastidiously accurate referrals, as well as showing huge dedication to helping crews who call our clinical advice line. He makes accurate notes during non-clinical welfares, which allows senior EOC clinicians to keep patients safe in surge conditions. Owen also takes the initiative when supporting patients who have fallen, conducting a very thorough welfare call and proactively flagging appropriate calls to the clinical team. On top of that, he takes ownership of the automatic upgrades to ensure that none are missed and that fallen patients are kept safe.
Colleagues described Owen as a “pivotal” part of the ECAT team, adding: “His dedication to quality in everything he does is an inspiration to his colleagues.”
Due to John’s sterling leadership, this year’s vaccination programme helped to protect 68% of staff – 17% higher than the average for the country’s 10 ambulance trusts. As well as coming up with ideas for quality reporting processes, John also helped to inspire his fantastic team to encourage people to protect both themselves and others by having the jab.
Nominees for this award should live our Trust values – Care, Trust, Respect, Honesty, Teamwork. There will be an award for each Trust value.
Vehicle technician Mark works hard to keep our emergency vehicles safe and moving, coming in early and leaving late to make sure every ambulance and response car can stay on the road. Always willing to go above and beyond, he has even sacrificed days off and time with his young family to come to work and help when several vehicles have needed attention, in turn making sure crews can get back out to patients more quickly.
Mark is hugely dedicated and takes great pride in his work. A great advocate of teamwork, he is always happy to help other departments and does so with a smile on his face. Colleagues say it’s an honour to work alongside him.
Andrew, Amy and the rest of the medicines management team in Letchworth play a vital role every single day, often behind the scenes. They work exceptionally well together and are committed to making sure every station has sufficient stocks of the medication needed to keep our patients safe.
Every member of the team is friendly, welcoming and respectful, and work to tight deadlines while keeping smiles on their faces. Colleagues say they offer each other great support, both personally and professionally, and that their hard work truly deserves to be recognised.
Nominees for this award should live our Trust values – Care, Trust, Respect, Honesty, Teamwork. There will be an award for each Trust value.
Every member of our community response team goes above and beyond to welcome new volunteers to EEAST and offer them all of the help and support they need to settle in and successfully complete their roles.
During the past year, they have expanded our co-response programme so that more fire and RAF personnel can complete shifts for the Trust, as well as helping to increase the number of hours our volunteers dedicate to supporting EEAST. The team also took on the huge task of registering more than 6,000 public defibrillators on the new national circuit while arranging training to upskill volunteers to attend falls patients, in turn freeing up crews to respond elsewhere.
Our community response team add significant value to the Trust while making a real difference to our 1,200-strong army of volunteers.
Janice is described as “an amazing member of Trust staff” who exemplifies our values and leads by example. Caring and compassionate, she stays positive even when having difficult conversations with colleagues, offering great support in times of crisis.
Janice has effectively managed the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian role at EEAST during some challenging times, and has used her valuable skills, experience and passion to make the Trust a better place to work, learn, volunteer and receive care.
Colleagues say she is wholly deserving of recognition and that it is as “genuine privilege” to work with her.
Nominees for this award should live our Trust values – Care, Trust, Respect, Honesty, Teamwork. There will be an award for each Trust value.
Supportive Jess has proved herself to be a kind and compassionate leader while stepping up to manage TrainEEAST. Despite facing some challenges, she has kept the happiness of her colleagues front and centre and works hard to support both her staff and those in the CFR Training Team.
While leading TrainEEAST, Jess has won some significant new contracts which are generating valuable income to help the Trust continue to fund vital projects in the communities we serve. A passionate advocate for good mental health, she also uses her qualifications in mental health first aid to support both colleagues and customers.
Jess is described as the “strongest exemplar” of all of the Trust’s values.
Chris shows incredible respect to bereaved families at inquests, delivering difficult and sometimes distressing information to them in a compassionate and considerate way. He is always willing to support investigations and often helps the legal team when he is not at work to make sure that the coroner and family get the answers which they both want and need.
Nothing is ever too much trouble for Chris, who answers endless queries from colleagues, families, their representatives and the coroners without question. He also honours and respects those who have died through his honesty.
Colleagues say Chris is an asset to the Trust who is held in extremely high regard by coroners across the region, who often request him by name.
Nominees for this award should live our Trust values – Care, Trust, Respect, Honesty, Teamwork. There will be an award for each Trust value.
A passionate advocate for positive mental health, Joe has worked incredibly hard to raise awareness of suicide while sharing his own story on the national stage. He went the extra mile by paddle boarding the English Channel to raise vital charity funds, all while helping to keep a cause he is passionate about in the spotlight and encouraging others to come forward and ask for help.
Stefan is described as a “supportive, caring and attentive line manager” who sets an exceptional example for others in the same role. He treats his staff with kindness, compassion and empathy and is described as a credit to our service.
Stefan played a particularly important role in the life of a colleague who was undergoing personal and professional difficulties which affected their mental health. They said: “Stefan supported me beyond all expectations….he was always attentive and would consistently check on my welfare and promote positive mental health. He took it upon himself to care for me as a person… and is one of the kindest men I have had the pleasure of knowing.”
Selfless Jennifer provided incredible support for a family who had sadly lost an eight-month-old following a cardiac arrest. She showed enormous care and compassion to visit them in her own time following the traumatic incident so that she could answer any questions they may have, and even brought toys and powdered milk for their other children.
Jennifer is described as a “true unsung hero” of the north Bedfordshire team who is a pleasure to work with. Colleagues say: “She is absolutely an inspiration to us all.”
Nominations for this award can be for any member of staff who has displayed excellent patient care beyond expectation.
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Colleagues say they are “certain beyond any reasonable doubt” that Dominic’s calm and professional actions saved the life of a 15-year-old boy in cardiac arrest. From the moment the crew took the call, Dom stayed stoic and expertly coordinated the patient’s care while liaising with partner agencies and ensuring the teenager’s family were kept informed about what was happening.
Dom made sure everyone knew exactly what to do and when, in turn helping to maintain a sense of calm during what was an extremely emotional job. One of colleagues who supported the response said: “I couldn’t wish to work with a more professional and caring individual."
Over the past 12 months, Tim, Nick, Rachel, Clifford and Chris have worked tirelessly to develop a ‘just in case’ (JIC) medications proposal which aims to ensure patients in the last hours, weeks or months of life receive excellent care. As well as collaborating with community and palliative care colleagues to devise a joint training module, the team has also identified a suite of JIC medications which will benefit vulnerable patients and make them more comfortable.
Despite facing constraints following the pandemic, this dedicated and influential team has successfully driven this important project forward.
Cala, Jon-James, Edward, Megan, Clive, Georgina, Steven, Luke, Tracy and colleagues Adriana Cordier and Steven Chambers from MAGPAS showed the utmost professionalism to deliver excellent patient care to a mother who had given birth to twins prematurely at home.
Both babies needed intensive medical support after arriving at just 26 weeks, particularly the smaller of the two who was not breathing and had to be resuscitated. But the team didn’t stop there, and also gave potentially life-saving treatment to the mum following the traumatic birth. Thanks to the excellent care they provided, mum and both babies have gone onto make a good recovery and are now starting their lives as a new family.
The colleague who nominated the group said they worked cohesively as team and made joint decisions while keeping patient-centred care at the heart of their response. They added: “It was highly emotional and stressful, but everyone kept calm and collected which led to the most fantastic outcome.”
Nominations for this award can be for any member of staff who has displayed innovative ideas to aid the Trust in its service delivery.
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In her dual role as paramedic and senior midwife, Kerrie has played an instrumental role delivering maternity education to staff at all grades to improve their knowledge and boost patient safety. She has also been involved in the introduction of ‘Transwarmers’ to prevent hypothermia in newborns and has worked on various clinical instructions which aim to enhance obstetric care at EEAST.
Kerrie is dedicated to finding innovative ways to further improve the services we provide. She has helped to introduce various courses for clinical colleagues, and will lead further training in the future. Kerrie has also taken on a vital role at a number of maternity debriefs, where she has supported staff who have faced challenging situations.
Our unique Unmet Needs scheme is described as a fantastic example of innovation which is already having a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable patients and their experience of receiving care. The team assist with low acuity calls, signposting or referring patients to the right service to meet their needs, such as social care or support with housing or benefits. As well as releasing crews from the scene to respond to other emergencies, their input helps patients to a better quality of life and prevents their difficulties from escalating.
The team have worked hard to build effective relationships and develop referral pathways with partner organisations, such as local authorities and the voluntary and community sector. In its first few months, members have made more than 400 referrals and have supported a wide variety of patients, including those sleeping rough, people facing financial difficulties and a single mum suffering with exhaustion.
The scheme provides a vital one stop shop which not only offers valuable support to patients, but also benefits the health and social care system by reducing the likelihood these individuals will need further care in the future.
Nominations for this award can be for any member of staff who has shown dedication to their own personal development.
Colleagues say they are “totally blown away” by the way Caroline has embraced the role of LOM and continued to develop both personally and professionally.
Over the past year alone, she has completed all of her management passport training elements quickly and efficiently, finished a quality improvement course, carried out a huge number of staff appraisals and trained as an advanced practitioner in urgent care. Conscientious Caroline has also become the Datix lead for north Bedfordshire, which sees her review every incident report in depth and provide a balanced and comprehensive response to the reporter.
Caroline deals with sensitive staffing issues with great skill and puts everyone around her at ease with her caring nature. She is described as “an amazing asset to the organisation” who excels in everything she does.
Aimee recently passed her Chartered Institute in Procurement and Supply (CIPS) level five advanced diploma with flying colours. She worked extremely hard in her spare time not only to pass, but to excel in the course. Aimee scored very highly throughout, which colleagues have described as “a great personal achievement”.
Samantha has shown great commitment to pass her Chartered Institute in Procurement and Supply (CIPS) level four diploma. As well as scoring highly, she earned the qualification quickly after giving up her free time to revise at home. Dedicated Samantha has now started studying for the level five diploma to develop her professional skills still further.
Nominations for this award can be for any member of staff, team or initiative that has had a positive impact on the community work we do through any partnership, including other NHS organisations, charities, community groups or 999 colleagues.
Over the past few years, Tom has worked incredibly hard to form strong partnerships to help us work more collaboratively with all six fire and rescue services across the region. As well as developing a framework for non-clinical drivers, co-responders and those attending cardiac arrests, falls and bariatric cases, he has expanded some our of partnerships to include co-location. Thanks to this close integration, fire service colleagues are now able to complement our response by attending appropriate patients within their communities.
Tom’s work has been recognised nationally, with blue light colleagues from across the country now exploring ways to introduce elements of our successful model into their own relationships.
Selfless Lee and Jack generously give up hours of their own time to support the community on Canvey Island. They coordinate the 15-strong community first response team, delivering monthly training and organising ride-outs to boost the confidence and skills of our volunteers, as well as auditing 18 public defibrillators every month to make sure they are in good working order.
The dedicated duo also play a key role in helping to educate the next generation by holding fun events in primary schools and showing hundreds of secondary school pupils how to deliver basic life support and manage choking and allergic reactions.
Colleagues describe their involvement with their community as “fantastic” and truly reflective of the Trust’s values.
Martin was very passionate about all things volunteering, and had been with EEAST as a volunteer for over 17 years. During this time, Martin not only operated as a community first responder, but he was also the co-ordinator for his local group, a volunteer trainer supporting local training sessions and trained new recruits on the induction courses.
Martin’s passion for EEAST volunteering saw him elected as the volunteer advisory forum (VAF) representative for Suffolk, where he shared his passion by supporting and advising how to continually improve the volunteer experience within EEAST. Martin was also a keen local champion for volunteering and could regularly be seen at local community events supporting and educating the public in first aid and basic life support through the BHF Heartstart scheme.
Martin’s last contribution to the progression of volunteers, was to join volunteers and leaders from the NHS in London at the first volunteer workshop to develop the national strategy for volunteering in ambulance services. Martin’s enthusiasm spread further than just Suffolk, and over the years he interacted and supported many people in varying roles.
Nominations for this award can be for any member of staff who has displayed great leadership, with particular focus on the Trust values of care, teamwork, quality, respect and honesty.
“Amazing leader” Rachel is described as “proactive, inspirational, genuine, empathetic and a pleasure to work for.” She has led the Patient Safety Team through a raft of challenges during the past year as demand for our services has continued to rise but faced every day with true professionalism and a smile on her face.
Compassionate and thoughtful, Rachel is always happy to help with any task, no matter how large or small. She offers fantastic support to her team and dedicates her time to developing each individual member to reach their full potential.
Rachel received numerous nominations for a Stars of EEAST award, with colleagues saying she is “a true star”, “a ray of light”, a “phenomenal leader” and “an absolute credit to the Trust.”
Approachable Andy has a positive impact on every team he leads and offers “incredible” support to staff on both a personal and professional level. He takes the time to check in with each colleague regularly, offering help whenever it is needed despite his own busy schedule as head of commercial services.
Andy is a great listener who always asks others for their opinion, which in turn ensures everyone feels involved in decisions affecting the service. Colleagues say he is a “fantastic manager and a great leader”, adding: “Andy’s emotional intelligence is something I haven’t experienced from a leader before. He is visible, shows empathy and motivates.”
Nominations for this award can be for any member of staff who champions and promotes equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and creates an inclusive environment in which all employees feel valued and can thrive.
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Emergency medical technician Zain went the extra mile in the run up to Ramadan to help colleagues at all levels of the Trust to understand more about Islam, its history and customs. He produced an informative and comprehensive presentation, which he delivered to locality managers with great confidence. Using his remarkable knowledge, Zain taught his audience about the five pillars of Islam, Ramadan and Eid, and helped to make sure that everyone felt comfortable asking any questions they may have.
Zain is now organising visits to his local mosque to help managers gain a further understanding of Islam, and will also begin delivering his presentation to all staff locally via Microsoft Teams to give his colleagues an insight into the religion.
Zain’s proactivity has played a significant role in helping to promote inclusion within EEAST.
James is the driving force behind our new Men’s Wellbeing Network, and worked tirelessly for more than two years to launch this valuable resource. He has collaborated effectively with colleagues both within our Trust and from other emergency services to progress his vision, dedicating huge amounts of his own time to the project and showing great passion and motivation throughout.
Thanks to James’ hard work and dedication, we are now leading the way by offering this innovative and supportive group in addition to our other equality, diversity and inclusion networks.
Nominations are to recognise the work of an outstanding team within the Trust who have worked together effectively to deliver excellent service.
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Our small but highly capable community response team take responsibility for recruiting, training and managing all of the community and co-responders who support our Trust, which equates to more than 1,200 volunteers. They have led a variety of initiatives over the past 12 months, including a safer recruitment campaign to make sure every new starter and existing volunteer is enrolled onto the DBS update service. The team have also signed up every volunteer to Evolve and actively encourage them to complete their mandatory training to keep their skills up-to-date so that they can continue to provide high quality care.
The team regularly set up events to help our volunteers feel welcomed, as well as inviting them to forums so that they can input proactively into the way the service is taken forward. They work hard every day to uphold the Trust values of care, teamwork, quality, respect and honesty.
Despite facing a period of unprecedented demand, our patient safety team has remained positive and proactive and continued to offer outstanding support to colleagues. They have achieved a great deal over the past year to improve patient safety and encourage staff to develop their own practices, as well as ensuring learning is shared across the Trust whenever necessary.
The highly professional team work brilliantly together and are caring, compassionate and understanding towards each other, pulling together to do their very best for patients and the community. Colleagues say they have an “amazing” ethos and are a “breath of fresh air” who have a phenomenal impact considering their small size.