Royal recognition for long-serving member of London Ambulance Service 999 team

An inspiring and long-serving leader from London Ambulance Service’s operations team has been presented with a King’s Ambulance Service Medal in a prestigious ceremony hosted by Anne, Princess Royal.

Cathy-Anne Burchett, Associate Director of Operations for South East London, was awarded the honour in recognition of a career dedicated to helping members of the public in their hour of need and improving the working lives of London Ambulance Service colleagues.

Attending the recent investiture at Windsor Castle, Cathy-Anne, who joined the London Ambulance Service in 1995 in a role answering 999 calls, said:

“I am proud and humbled to receive this award. I want to thank all the colleagues, managers and friends whose support and teamwork has been so valuable throughout my career and made this honour possible.

“I will continue to work to create the best culture and environment where people from all walks of life have a chance to thrive and take their career to the next step at the Service.” 

Cathy-Anne worked in the 999 control room for the first 26 years of her career at LAS. Her dedication, passion and commitment saw her rise through the ranks in 999 operations until in 2018, she became a General Manager – the most senior position in the control room.

In 2021 Cathy-Anne was then appointed as Associate Director of Operations for South East London and has driven forward many initiatives improving the health and wellbeing of our teams including a campaign to reduce violence and aggressive behaviour directed towards staff from patients.

Daniel Elkeles, Chief Executive said:

“We were delighted to see Cathy-Anne receive her King’s Ambulance Medal, an honour of which she can feel immensely proud.

“As one of our most senior woman from an ethnic minority background, she has helped to drive forward so much positive cultural change over the years to benefit both our staff and patients.

“She is an inspiration to so many people here at LAS who benefit from her passion, experience and support.”