We’re so proud of you!
PRINCE WILLIAM HONOURS MEDICS WHO HELPED THOSE INJURED IN ARENA ATTACK
PRINCE William has honoured the medics who worked tirelessly to help those injured in the Manchester Arena bomb at this year’s Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards.
The Duke of Cambridge hailed the emergency service workers at a celebrity-filled ceremony at the Grosvenor Hotel in Mayfair, London, on Monday night.
The ‘This Morning Emergency Services Award for Special Recognition’ was handed to the paramedics, nurses and surgeons who worked 24-hour shifts to save the lives of those caught up in the atrocity in Manchester on May 22.
At the awards ceremony, Prince William said: “I got to witness first hand the incredible actions and professionalism of our doctors and nurses. I can’t say enough about how proud I am about everything these guys and girls do on a day to day basis. I know you are all very modest about what you do every day. But I genuinely don’t know how you see some of the things you see.
“You take those scars home with you mentally yet you come back the next day and you continue to do fantastic work day in day out.”
In the seconds after the Manchester Arena bomb blast, which killed 22 people including children and teenagers, and injured another 250, first-aiders rushed to help. They were soon joined by paramedics and ambulance crews in 60 vehicles who were greeted with scenes that resembled a war zone. The wounded were taken to eight hospitals across Greater Manchester. Surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, radiologists and hospital managers who had just finished their shifts turned around and went back into work.
Others helped supply food and water for frontline medics, and even simple kindnesses such as finding phone chargers so people could tell their families they were safe.
The response of the medics was all the more remarkable due to the fact they were treating children as young as eight with shrapnel wounds.
Manchester Royal Infirmary, Salford Royal Foundation Trust, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital, Stepping Hill Hospital, Bolton Hospital Royal, Royal Oldham Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital all received patients.
Showing courage, professionalism and compassion in the most difficult circumstances, their staff battled through the night and the days that followed to rescue and treat those caught up in the senseless attack.
Orthopaedic surgeon Ibrar Majid, who works at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and operated on some of those injured by the bomb, said: “All of those who treated the patients on that night have been affected but it never ceases to be amaze me how incredibly resilient those who suffered injuries and who continue to recover have been. They are truly an inspiration. I couldn’t be prouder of them and all of the medical staff who went above and beyond the call of duty that night. They are all what makes the NHS so great and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone.”
The 2017 Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, in partnership with TSB, will be broadcast on ITV at 8pm on Tuesday, November 7.