MORE than 200 staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust who have clocked up over 5,900 years of service between them have been honoured with long service and retirement awards.
A number of different awards were presented to 90 staff from across the region at a special event at Nostell Priory in Wakefield on Tuesday 4 September 2012, while a further 136 will be presented with awards locally.
The accolades include the Queen’s Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, awarded to staff for 20 years’ exemplary frontline emergency service, and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service 20 years’ Long Service Award, presented to staff carrying out non-frontline duties.
In total, 48 individuals are being honoured for achieving the 30 years’ service milestone while five staff are being recognised for an incredible 40 years of service. Over 110 retirees are also being recognised for their contribution.
The Queen’s representative, Major David Wroe MBE, Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire, presented the awards at the ceremony alongside the Trust’s Chairman Della M Cannings QPM and Chief Executive David Whiting.
Speaking proudly about the awards David Whiting said:
These awards recognise outstanding commitment to duty and I would like to congratulate and thank each recipient for their valuable years of service.
The Trust is committed to providing high quality patient care and we are only able to do so thanks to the dedication of our staff, many of whom have spent much of their working lives in the ambulance service.
Whether working on the frontline or behind the scenes, our staff work extremely hard to provide the very best care to patients. Each and every one of them is a credit to our service and the people of Yorkshire who they serve so well.
A wide range of ambulance service memorabilia such as photographs, old uniforms and equipment was on display at the event. Four emergency vehicles spanning 127 years of the service were also on show, including a horse-drawn ambulance from 1885, an ambulance from the 1980s and a brand new 2012 four-wheel drive ambulance.
