Colleagues from across all four corners of the service, including emergency care, scheduled care, emergency operations centre (EOC) and support services, attended regional events and laid wreaths on behalf of the service alongside colleagues from their partner emergency services and armed forces organisations.
The service, which employs over 400 veterans and currently serving military of staff, is one of only 222 NHS trusts and independent organisations across the country to be recognised as a Veteran Aware employer. NEAS signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant in 2020 and since then, the service has worked its way up through the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS) accreditation process before successfully being awarded the Gold employer award.
Colleagues from the Trust attended services throughout the region, including Berwick, Newton Ayecliffe, Newcastle, Crook, Guisborough, Cramlington, Longbenton, Whickham, Middlesbrough, Eston, Sedgefield, Thornaby, Forest Hall, Amble, Whitely Bay, Barnard Castle, and Morpeth. NEAS Emergency Preparedness, Resilience, and Response (EPRR) team colleagues Marianne Walton, David Graham, and Stuart Storey also attended the Festival of Remembrance at Durham Cathedral.
In London, Phil Blance, Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) training manager and member of the ambulance service’s ceremonial team, attended the national memorial march and service at the Cenotaph. A member of the Trust for 25 years and family member of armed forces veterans, he said: “It was a privilege and honour to be able to represent the service in London this year. Remembrance Day honours those who have served to defend our democratic freedoms and way of life, and unites faiths, cultures, and backgrounds to remember the service and sacrifice of the armed forces community in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
“As a member of an emergency service, it was really important that we remembered the sacrifices of our armed forces colleagues and paid tribute to those who now serve in our Trust using their skills from their armed forces careers. It was also an opportunity to pay respects to the families and loved ones of those lost, some of whom are members of our service.”
On Remembrance Day, staff members at ambulance service headquarters, Bernicia House, and the service’s training school in Team Valley joined the rest of the country in taking part in a two-minute silence.
Find out more about the support NEAS offers veterans and its armed forces accreditations by visiting: https://www.neas.
