Welsh Ambulance Service colleagues praised for a 'millennium' of long service

THE Welsh Ambulance Service celebrated its long-serving staff and volunteers at an awards ceremony in south Wales.

Colleagues with 20, 30 and 40 years of service were presented with medals at an event to recognise their length of service at the International Convention Centre, Newport, on Friday.

Colleagues with 20 years in the Emergency Medical Service were also presented with a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal by Lord Lieutenant of Gwent, Brigadier Robert Aitken CBE.

Remarkably, Friday’s recipients had a collective length of service spanning 1,000 years.

Among the recipients at Friday’s event was Paul Greatorex, head of service for NHS 111 Wales, who was recognised for his incredible four decades of service.

Paul, who originally started his career in Weston-Super-Mare, joined the then named Avon Ambulance authority in 1981, aged just 22.

He began his career in the patient transport service before moving on to begin his emergency medical technician training in 1983.

In 1986, Paul moved into the control room as a control officer and then a control room superintendent and remained with the Avon Ambulance Authority until they became the Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) in 2000.

He also worked as an ambulance liaison officer at Southmead Hospital Bristol before being appointed to the role of assistant director of patient transport services at GWAS and later, becoming the head of performance for the service.

Paul remained with GWAS, who later merged to become the South Western Ambulance Service until 2021, finishing his time there as head of control rooms (north).

He briefly considered retirement but decided it just wasn’t for him and subsequently, joined the Welsh Ambulance Service in 2021 as a service manager and then became acting head of service for 111.

Paul, who is married to Sarah and with whom they share five children together, said: “I have absolutely no plans to retire.

“I love what I do, and I can tell you from experience that the Welsh Ambulance Service is a fantastic organisation to work for.

“A year after I joined I experienced a health scare and the support myself and my family received was second to none.

“I am determined to remain with WAST and to help oversee the transformation of the 111 service.”

Almost 300 colleagues across the Trust have been invited to receive a Long Service Award this year.

Colleagues at yesterday’s event included paramedics, emergency medical technicians, call handlers, allocators, operations managers and a range of corporate colleagues from all across south Wales.

Chief Executive Jason Killens said: “Working for the ambulance service takes a certain, special type of person.

“It is a job that makes a real difference as we tend to only see people when they are seriously unwell or suffering a medical emergency.

"Our staff are the people to whom they turn in those times of need, and it takes remarkable people to continue doing what they do, day in, day out.

“There is a wealth of experience amongst our people and it is humbling to think that the Long Service Awards we presented to the people in the room yesterday amounted to a collective service of a thousand years.”

Chair Colin Dennis added: “These people are the reason the Welsh Ambulance Service is what it is.

“They work tirelessly, 24/7, to serve the people of Wales, making a huge difference to their communities.

“I am extremely proud of their achievements and would like to say a huge congratulations to all of our recipients.”

Editor’s Notes

For more information, email Communications Officer Jeff.Prescott@wales.nhs.uk or call Jeff on 07811 748363.