Magpas Air Ambulance receives award for support for Armed Services personnel
UK-based charity Magpas Air Ambulance received a Bronze Award for their support of Armed Forces personnel who work for the service
Magpas Air Ambulance has multiple serving Armed Forces personnel, veterans, reservists and family members within the charity. Andy Smith, Magpas Air Ambulance’s Clinical Operations Manager and Critical Care Paramedic, was in the Royal Air Force for 34 years as a paramedic on the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) and served in Afghanistan five times, as well as Bosnia and both Gulf Wars.
Smith commented: “My time in the military has shaped my entire life, as well as my work at Magpas Air Ambulance. For me, the charity’s greatest strength is the continuous support, education and training for staff as well as learning from other services – including the Armed Forces. We regularly utilize procedures and equipment that are used on the battlefield to enhance our patient care and we value the skills and expertise that Armed Forces personnel bring to the service.”
Developing clinical expertise
Natalie Church, Magpas Air Ambulance Director of Operations, added: “The skills and experience of our military staff compliments our lifesaving service, and in return Magpas Air Ambulance provides these clinicians with the opportunity to not only maintain but further develop their clinical expertise in the field when they’re not on active operations.”
Last year, Magpas Air Ambulance signed the Armed Forces Covenant, which represents a promise that those who serve or have served, and their families, are supported and treated fairly. This was followed by a Bronze Award for the charity in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme for organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to the Armed Forces community, and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
Magpas Air Ambulance’s Chief Executive, Daryl Brown, who is also Honorary Commander for the 423rd Medical Squadron of the 501st Combat Support Wing, explained: “Magpas Air Ambulance has a 50-year history of current and former military personnel working in our charity, from some of our founding doctors being RAF and Army GP’s and the first A&E consultants in the UK. We are proud that today, still many of our clinical and non-clinical staff are current or former service personnel.”