Ambulance UK August 2023

NEWLINE
AMBULANCE UK – AUGUST
EEAST represented
at Westminster
Abbey service to
mark NHS 75th
Birthday
Staff at the East of England
Ambulance Service NHS Trust
(EEAST) joined colleagues from
across the NHS at a service at
Westminster Abbey to mark the
NHS’s 75th Birthday.
Terry Hicks, head of operations
for Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough, Zoe Martindale,
Philip Bygrave, and Chaplain
Tony Mills all made the journey to
attend the service on Wednesday,
July 5.
The event, which was attended
by Their Royal Highnesses The
Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
and senior political leaders,
started with a procession of
the George Cross, which was
presented to the NHS in 2022 by
Her Majesty The Queen.
The Cross was carried by nurse
May Parsons, who administered
the world’s first COVID vaccine.
May was joined by Kyle Dean-
Curtis, 17, St John Ambulance
cadet of the year, and Enid
Richmond, 91, who worked for
the NHS at the time it launched.
Zoe Martindale is an
improvement manager for the
Emergency Operations Centre
which handles incoming 999
emergency calls. She said:
“I felt extremely honoured and
privileged to be invited to attend
the service to celebrate the
75th anniversary of the NHS at
Westminster Abbey. It was a
really moving experience and I felt
lucky and honoured to have been
picked to attend”,
“Attending the service gave
me an opportunity to reflect on
the past 15 years that I have
spent working for the Trust,
and although it’s not always
been easy, I’m still so incredibly
proud and grateful to wear my
uniform and I look forward to
what the future holds for all of us
here within the EOC and across
EEAST.”
Philip Bygrave is a Make Ready
Group lead for King’s Lynn and
Peterborough, which prepares
ambulances and other vehicles
ready for deployment. He said:
“Attending the service on behalf
of EEAST was a great honour
and it was humbling to be with so
many people who have dedicated
so much to the NHS. I have
worked in the ambulance service
for 23 years and was in patientfacing
roles before joining the
Make Ready Service at EEAST
in 2020. Knowing that you are
making a difference to patients’
lives is extremely rewarding and
makes you feel proud to work in
the NHS.”
Welsh Ambulance
Service awarded
prestigious
environmental
management
standard
THE Welsh Ambulance Service
has been recognised for its
commitment to reduce its
environmental footprint and
improve its performance.
The Trust has been awarded
the prestigious ISO 14001
Environmental Management
Systems Standard by British
Standards Institution after a
rigorous five-day inspection of its
environmental governance system.
ISO 14001 is an internationally
recognised standard for
environmental management
systems, which supports
organisations in identifying,
managing, monitoring and
controlling environmental
processes.
The Welsh Ambulance Service
is currently the only ambulance
service in the UK to hold this
standard.
Richard Davies, the Trust’s
Assistant Director of Capital
and Estates, said: “To retain
accreditation is a massive
achievement.
“It’s a validation of the great work
headed by the Estates team
and especially Environment and
Sustainability Manager Nicci
Stephens and Environment and
Sustainability Support Officer
Sharon Jones.
“A massive thanks are owed to
the team who have supported
and delivered on this, we are all
extremely proud.”
The Trust introduced a
catalogue of new initiatives in
its bid to secure ISO 14001,
which includes new plug-in
hybrid rapid response cars to
replace the older diesel-powered
vehicles, 270 speed-limited
non-emergency patient transport
vehicles installed with solar
panels to minimise the need for
mains charging, continued the
use of video conferencing to
reduce travel time, emissions and
cost, installed new renewable
energy systems and reduced
its reliance on fossil fuels by
installing low carbon heating.
Leading the work has been
Environment and Sustainability
Manager Nicci Stephens, who
said: “I am so pleased to say that
after five days of auditing, the
Welsh Ambulance Service has
kept the ISO 14001 accreditation
for 2023.
“The accreditation provides
assurance to the Trust’s
management and employees, as
well as external stakeholders that
the environmental impacts of the
Trust are being measured and
improved.
“The assessor noted that during
their visit, the Trust demonstrated
that the environmental
management systems in place
continue to support the strategic
direction of the organisation
and achieve objectives relating
to improving environmental
performance, which we are very
proud of.
“In order to support the Welsh
Government’s ambition of a
net zero carbon public sector
by 2030, we have developed a
decarbonisation plan and are
working towards the NHS Wales
decarbonisation target reduction
of 34%.”
The Trust was accredited following
an audit which took place at a
sample of stations and office
buildings across Wales during May.
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