Friday was a very special evening, as we welcomed over 270 of our staff to Ribby Hall, Kirkham for our annual Star Awards – celebrating their work over the past year.

Hosted by comedian Phil Walker, we also had entertainment from Bollywood dancers, and live music from band Squeeze Box – led by our own Consultant Paramedic Vinny Romano.

A big thank you to all our sponsors and our very own North West Ambulance Charity for making it such a great night and funding the event.

Ahead of the winners’ announcement, there was also a special Chairman’s Commendation awarded to staff who responded to last July’s devastating incident in Southport. We also took the time to remember those who have sadly passed away this past year.

With nine categories and finalists nominated by NWAS staff, our winners on the night were:

• Patient’s Choice Award – Paramedic Emma Cowell, and Emergency Medical Technician Paul Blott, who supported and helped a mum deliver her baby she wasn’t expecting.
• Super Star Award – John Howard, Dispatcher, who is popular with our Parkway colleagues for making brews and toast!
• Volunteer Award – Michael Pain, Enhanced Community First Responder, who is always happy to help his community in Cumbria.  
• Apprentice Award – Mark Smyth, Paramedic, who started his paramedic training at 63, demonstrating that it’s never too late to follow your dreams.
• Inspirational Role Model Award – Liam Halliwell, Advanced Practitioner, whose wealth of experience, hard work and positivity inspire his colleagues in our contact centres.  
• Leader Award – Jan Barnes-Orme, Head of Statutory and Occupational Learning, who goes above and beyond to train colleagues and help them reach their full potential.
• Community Contribution Award – Jonny Speirs, Emergency Medical Technician, whose community engagement efforts in Blackpool and Fylde inspire young adults to join the ambulance service. 
• Our Values Award – Caroline Hargreaves, Senior Paramedic Team Leader, who led a project with local care homes in East Lancashire to prevent falls.
• Outstanding Teamwork Award – Command and Resilience Education Team, who have made a real difference in training our response and incident commanders in a short space of time. 

Our Chief Executive, Salman Desai, presented the awards to staff on the night. He said:

“This was an incredible evening, and it was fantastic to come together and celebrate the outstanding talent, compassion, and perseverance that exists within NWAS.

“Congratulations to all of our winners and nominees and I hope everyone had a great night. I’m excited to see this amazing talent and energy from our staff, as together we embrace new challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.”