Medal for her work following disaster

A FORMER Leicester student has won a medal in Australia for her work in a disaster response team.

Clare Sutton, who went to Dovelands Primary and then New College, received the National Emergency Medal as recognition for her work during Tropical Cyclone Debbie in 2017.

Clare, who worked for East Midlands Ambulance Service for 18 years as a paramedic, is now senior lecturer in paramedicinea at Charles Stuart University, in Bathurst, New South Wales.

“I have been awarded the National Emergency Medal for my service with Team Rubicon Australia when I deployed to Proserpine in Queensland as part of the disaster response team in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Debbie,” Clare said.

“It seems quite out of the blue given the length of time that’s passed since that event, but this deployment was the inspiration for my choice of PhD topic, which has finally progressed to the recruitment stage, so the timing is perfect.”

The National Emergency Medal is awarded to people who rendered sustained service during specified dates in specified places in response to nationally significant emergencies within Australia, or to people who rendered significant service in response to such emergencies.

Tropical Cyclone Debbie has been declared nationally significant for the purposes of the National Emergency Medal.

Ms Sutton said her deployment was as a civilian with first responder experience.

She said: “We were deployed as part of a strike team to undertake a variety of work across the disaster zone depending on the greatest need.

“Tasks involved conducting health and welfare checks on residents affected by the cyclone, conducting damage assessments on properties, and coordinating the supply of food and water to those displaced.”