Air ambulance trio hailed for inspiring work
High-flying staff at a local emergency service were celebrating after winning an award for excellence and commitment.
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) was delighted to win one award and be highly commended in two other categories at the Air Ambulances UK 2022 Awards of Excellence.
The finest clinicians, aviators, fundraisers, volunteers and charity staff within the UK’S air ambulance community came together for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic for the awards ceremony.
A new category for 2022 was the Breaking Barriers Award, which was won by GWAAC’S advanced practitioner in critical care, Vicki Brown.
Along with two highly commended recognitions for Charity Staff Member of the Year and Volunteer of the Year, the night was a huge success for the charity that provides the critical care and air ambulance service to 2.1 million people across the region.
Vicki brought home the Breaking Barriers Award for her trailblazing work in carving a career pathway for paramedics in the UK. Vicki’s drive and ambition help the charity provide the best possible care to patients in the region while giving other paramedics across the country an opportunity to follow in her footsteps.
Strategic partnerships manager Joe Hughes was highly commended in the category of Charity Staff Member of the Year for his 11 years of exemplary service. His most ambitious project to date is GWAAC’S public access defibrillator campaign that serves to equip businesses and communities with an all-in-one lifesaving automated external defibrillator package.
Last but not least, Giuseppe Giannitti has only been a great western heartstarters volunteer for six months, but in that time, he has taught CPR and defibrillation to around 900 people in schools and at events.
This is something he has done in between working shifts as an emergency care assistant, where he spends 37.5 hours a week in ambulances across the region. To have taught so many people in such a short space of time, whilst juggling a demanding job outstanding.
Chief executive Anna Perry said: “I’m so pleased that Vicki, Joe and Pino have received this recognition at the 2022 awards of excellence.
“Their passion and dedication to the air ambulance charity and to the communities they serve is truly inspirational. We’re very lucky to have them!” Great Western Air Ambulance’s Critical Care Team is called to an average of over five incidents every day, bringing the skills and expertise of a hospital emergency department straight to patients.
If you would like to find out more about how you can support your air ambulance charity, visit: https:// greatwesternairambulance.com/howto-help.