Home grown stars of the gong show
NEW YEAR HONOURS RECIPIENTS INCLUDE CHARITY STALWART TONY, AGE 95
A HARD-WORKING charity volunteer is among the Leicestershire residents honoured by the Queen in the New Year Honours list.
Tony Bradley has received an MBE for his amazing efforts as an unpaid helper for charities including Loros and the air ambulance.
Tony, of Newtown Linford, who turns 96 in February, started volunteering 50 years ago.
He said: “It’s been awesome, really, and I never expected this. I don’t even know who nominated me.
“I found out at the beginning of December and it’s been quite a strain keeping it all quiet!
“I still volunteer at the care home where my wife, Renelle, lives, doing cake and tea and bingo, which I really enjoy. I also take my dog, Molly, along to see the residents.”
When Covid-19 struck, Tony found himself a temporary resident of the home, Beaumont Hall, in Leicester, because he wasn’t prepared to miss his regular visits to see Renelle.
He said: “I went to visit one day when the lockdown started and they told me I wouldn’t be allowed back in after I left that day - so I stayed.
“At first I just had a chair and then they found me a bed - I was there for seven months while Leicester was still in lockdown.”
Tony, who used to work as a lecturer, began volunteering about 50 years ago when he and Renelle supported an elderly couple who lived near them in Birstall.
After retirement he became a volunteer at Loros and after that as a busy fund-raiser for the air ambulance charity. He has also been a president of Soar Valley Rotary Club and in 2020 was named unpaid volunteer of the year at the Great British Care Awards.
His roles at Loros have included driving patients to hospital appointments from 1990 to 2000, while his Rotary Club fund-raising has supported the education of many children in Kenya.
With the air ambulance charity his work involved visits to schools and community groups to tell people about the work of the airborne medics. He has also volunteered as an exam invigilator, overseeing more than 1,000 univeristy students sitting exams over the years.
Tony also helped to bring up his grandchildren when their mum suddenly became a single parent and had to return to full-time work.
PAULA MURRAY
A BEM was awarded to Leicestershire County Council support manager Paula Murray.
Paula, 48, who lives in Leicester, received the award for her work on the council’s Covid-19 response in the highway’s sector.
She set up a safe system to deliver face mask fit testing to the wider community to ensure that colleagues in care homes could be tested to safely use PPE.
In making sure the wider highways team have information, she has introduced a Highways Delivery Bulletin, with reminders and updates for county council employees.
She has also been active in 2021 promoting and producing posters and support material related to Covid, social distancing and staff support.
Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet member for highways and transportation at the county council, said: “Our staff have worked round-theclock to keep people safe during these unprecedented times and I’d like to thank Paula and all of the council’s employees for their dedication and commitment to our communities.”
TONY AVERY
Leicestershire-born healthcare professor Tony Avery was recognised with an OBE for his research, which focuses on the safety of patients.
A GP and professor of primary healthcare at the University of Nottingham, he has been honoured for his services to general practice.
Professor Avery has also developed and evaluated a range of interventions that have led to improvements in patient safety. One example was Pincer, a pharmacist-led IT system that has reduced prescribing errors in general practice.
Pincer was rolled out to 350 general practices in the East Midlands and after being recommended for national adoption by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2015 it is now used by more than 2,500 practices across England, helping more than 20,000 patients get safer prescriptions.
Prof Avery said: “I’m absolutely delighted to receive this honour, and I would like to thank all my colleagues for the contribution they have made to my career. I would particularly like to thank my wife, Chris, my mum who lives in Leicester, and my family and friends for their love and support.”
Brn and raised in Glenfield , he was a member of the 42nd Leicester Scouts when they were national bugle and drum champions, and was a member of the band when they played for the Queen at Windsor Castle. He ran in the first Leicester Marathon in 1979, raising money for charity.