Air Ambulances UK Awards winners announced
The winners of the Air Ambulances UK Awards of Excellence 2021 were announced at a ceremony on 3 December
Doctor of the Year was awarded to Dr Phil Hyde from Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA). Phil is a highly skilled doctor dedicated to patient care and to nurturing the skills of colleagues as well as having a future vision for patient care. Since 2016, he’s has been working to develop DSAA’s clinical team’s skills and the clinical equipment needed to support critical pediatric transfers.
Dr Phil Hyde said: “It’s a great privilege to receive this award, particularly in the company of such exceptional other doctors. We have a very close team at Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, and I would like to thank everyone for their support in wining this award.”
Related to its developments in pediatric retrieval work, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance won Innovation of the Year for their collaboration with Wales and West Acute Transport for Children Service, Bristol Children’s Hospital Trauma Team Leaders and Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team to formally support the time-critical pediatric inter-hospital transport in the South-West region.
Alan Petch from Great Western Air Ambulance Charity was awarded Pilot of the Year for his exemplary flying skills and his very important piece of work on Landing Sites for the charity. By putting in many, many hours of detailed research into possible landing sites in urban areas, Alan created a directory of over 200 sites suitable for landing when attending incidents across the region.
Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Myrtle Irvine for her work with Air Ambulance Northern Ireland (AANI). Myrtle and her husband George were struck by tragedy in 2016 when their son Alistair passed away. Donations in his memory were made to AANI and this was just the beginning of their involvement. This year alone, Myrtle has helped to raise a fantastic £37,000.
“We do this because we are so passionate about it.”
AANI was awarded Campaign of the Year for the charity’s exceptional work with the agricultural community in Northern Ireland, a sector that accounts for one in ten of the service’s callouts. A whole raft of initiatives ran gaining massive coverage, a 20,000-strong online audience and has so far raised over £92,000.
Charity Team of the Year was awarded to the Operational Support Team at Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex, whose remit is to ensure a consistent approach to the supply of equipment and services to the operational teams, as well as dealing with enquiries from the police, coroners, and solicitors. The team of three constantly looks for innovative ways to improve service delivery 24/7.
Critical Care Practitioner of the Year was awarded to East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) Critical Care Paramedic Liam Sagi for being an exceptional team member and part of the crew who were dispatched to fellow colleague Dr Trish Mills when she was hit by a van while off-duty, undoubtedly helping to save her life.
Liam Sagi said: “I’m very honored and privileged to have been nominated and chosen for this award. It is a real honor to fly with EAAA and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we do this because we are so passionate about it. To receive an award for doing something you love is even more amazing.”
The Special Incident of the Year award went to Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance for the extraordinary work of Dr Luke Banks and HEMS paramedic Alex Walker who attended a stabbing and provided advanced pre-hospital care interventions, including a thoracotomy, which proved to be lifesaving and the patient recovered and returned home.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Bill Sivewright, Chief Executive of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Bill has led DSAA for more than eleven years, significantly growing income and seeing the number of patients treated annually increase from 350 to 1,300.
Bill Sivewright commented: “Thank you for this amazing honor. It’s been a huge privilege to have been able to contribute to this amazing sector with the support of the incredible team I have behind me. We save lives, we make lives better and we give people hope; what more could we have for inspiration.”
In Summer, Air Ambulances UK has unveiled its new five-year strategy, Saving More Lives Together 2021-2025.