AAA announces awards shortlist
The UK’s Association of Air Ambulances (AAA) has announced the shortlisted nominees for its 2015 Air Ambulance Awards of Excellence.
The UK’s Association of Air Ambulances (AAA) has announced the shortlisted nominees for its 2015 Air Ambulance Awards of Excellence. The winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony to be held on 16 November in London.
The AAA said an independent judging panel met on 15 September and considered all entries made across the 10 categories. The number of entries was up a quarter on the previous year, and the quality was higher than ever, said the Association.
The shortlist includes Gerry Lea (Thames Valley Air Ambulance), Paul Owen (Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance) and Jason Morris (London's Air Ambulance) who are nominated for the Paramedic of the Year Award.
In the Doctor of the Year category, the nominees are Dr Ian Mew (Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance), Dr Syed Masud (Thames Valley Air Ambulance) and Dr Gareth Grier (London's Air Ambulance).
Captain Rob Mackie (Devon Air Ambulance Trust), Captain Jon Earp (Wales Air Ambulance) and Captain Graham Cannell (Midland’s Air Ambulance Charity) are nominated as Pilot of the Year.
The Special Incident Award will go to London's Air Ambulance for its pre-hospital delivery of REBOA (Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta); Midland’s Air Ambulance Charity, for its part in the response following a roller coaster accident at Alton Towers; or Wales Air Ambulance for a road traffic accident tasking in Monmouthshire.
Other categories include: Outstanding Young Person, Charity Staff Member of the Year, Air Ambulance Campaign of the Year, Charity Volunteer of the Year and Innovation of the Year.
Member of Parliament Chloe Smith, who chaired the judging panel, commented: “The level of expertise and dedication of the people working in the air ambulance sector is extraordinary and these Awards are a wonderful way of showcasing their work. This year’s Awards entries were truly outstanding and contained stories of individual bravery, determination and brilliance, as well as outstanding teamwork, skill and vision, so it was a very difficult task to choose the shortlists. Each and every nominee is clearly an exceptional individual or team, and I would like to thank all of them for their hard work. With great difficulty, we have narrowed down the field and now look forward to the winners being announced in November.”