COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDERS
Martin awarded for his
‘Excellence in the community’
A
member of Eccleshall’s
highly
regarded
Community
First
Responders has been
commended at a recent awards
ceremony held to honour
members of the public who have
gone beyond the call of duty to
help save lives and support the
work of West Midlands
Ambulance Service
The event, sponsored by
Cardiac Science, Ferno UK and
SP Services was held at the Best
Western Moat House in Stokeon-Trent at the beginning of
November and was held to
recognise
the
efforts
of
Community First Responders, St
John
Ambulance,
other
emergency services and other
voluntary
organisations,
businesses and individuals.
Among those commended at
the
Excellence
in
the
Community Awards was Martin
Watson from Eccleshall who
picked up the Distinguished
Service Award.
Martin has organised and
taught numerous Staffordshire
HeartStart courses, adding to
the 10,000 members of the
general public in Staffordshire
who have taken up the
opportunity to learn lifesaving
skills. Martin has been a driving
force in the success of the
initiative and also gives his time
to his community by opting to be
available for 999 calls in
Eccleshall and the surrounding
area as a Community First
Responder.
Addressing the audience at
the event West Midlands
Ambulance
Service
Chief
Executive Anthony Marsh said
the awards were a celebration to
12 December 2013/ January 2014
say a really big thank-you to all
those who on a regular basis
help and support the ambulance
service in the West Midlands by
providing the very best care
consistently on a daily basis to
save as many lives as possible.
“It’s not by accident that
West Midlands Ambulance
Service is one of the best
performing ambulance services
in our country. That takes an
awful lot of hard work, not just
by our own staff that we employ
but also by our volunteers who
are held in very high regard.” Mr
Marsh stated.
The Trust’s Chairman, Sir
Graham Meldrum turned to
poetry to pay his tribute saying:
“Oh volunteers come ye may
Serving the communities
both night and day
I’d like to speak on behalf of
all the nation
And thank-you for your
dedication.”
Presenting some of the
awards Susie Lillingston, the
High Sheriff of Staffordshire
added: “The ambulance service
is under increasing pressure
every day and as volunteers you
have an exceptional role as you
help in so many different ways.
All of you are invaluable and
essential services for which we,
the general public, are very
grateful. Let’s not forget those
who do the fundraising which is
a thankless task but without
which much of the work some of
you do just wouldn’t be
possible.”
Photograph courtesy of West
Midlands Ambulance Service.