London Ambulance Service crews honoured for “unselfish act of bravery” at awards

Crews from London Ambulance Service who risked their lives to save others were among those recognised at a special awards ceremony to honouring bravery, teamwork and exceptional individuals.

“Our LAS Awards”, celebrated the incredible dedication and care of hundreds of members of staff including a paramedic who pulled people from the wreckage of a burning car moments before it exploded and clinicians who fought through flames to save a woman trapped in a house fire.

And in an extraordinary coincidence, Scott Ogles and Emma Redman Way later learned that the woman they saved from the house fire is the mother of a fellow clinician at the Service.

In February 2023, Scott entered the woman’s home, which was engulfed in black smoke, and pulled her out with the help of Emma.

The Emergency Medical Technician said: “It was quite a surreal experience. I won’t ever forget that day.”

Emma, also an Emergency Medical Technician, called London Fire Brigade, while Scott donned a mask and decided to face the fire to find the patient they could hear calling for help.

She said: “If Scott had not gone in – I really don’t know if she would have survived. She was blackened due to the smoke, struggling to breathe and no longer talking. She was showing the signs of impending cardiac arrest.

“When the firefighters arrived they asked if anyone was left inside. But Scott said he had gone in and gotten her out already.”

The dynamic duo did not discover the patient was the mother of their colleague paramedic Matt Searles until they were at Croydon Hospital.

Matt said: “What has impressed me so much about Scott and Emma, aside from the sheer bravery, is the quick-thinking and rapid problem-solving and how it can make a huge difference – in this case, a life and death impact.

“They worked amazingly as a team to call for back-up and the resources they needed, while Scott used a respirator mask – designed for Covid and infections – to put his own safety at risk and pull my mother out.”

He added: “There’s a lot of rhetoric about heroism in our roles, but this act speaks for itself – they unequivocally saved my mum’s life.”

Emma, who has been a clinician for 23 years, said she will never forget this incident or patient – and that it is the most memorable incident across her whole career.

It was Matt who reached out to the pair’s manager to suggest they be nominated for a Chief Executive Commendation.

Clinical Team Manager (CTM) Scott Mutter who attended the incident said: “Both Scott and Emma’s actions were some of the most unselfish acts of bravery I have ever seen in 23 years’ of service. The quick actions without a doubt saved the life of Mrs Searles.”

Other commendations were awarded to Dean Hawkins, a paramedic who jumped onto Tube tracks to restrain a violent passenger armed with a weapon and paramedic Natalia Croney, who came across a collision on the M4 while off duty and used her training and skills to rescue two people trapped in a car before it exploded.

Other recipients of CEO commendations included:

• Jonathan Merefield: For intervening when two men assaulted a woman and man, stabbing one of them.
• Stephanie Baisden and Lachlan Allan: For using quick-thinking to prevent theassailant at the Hainault sword attack from entering their ambulance.
• James Foster: For confronting two men who were fighting and retrieved a machete after witnessing an assault.
• Christina Wright: For effective leadership and commitment to inclusivity and teamwork on the Public Education team.

Chief Executive Daniel Elkeles said: “Our staff and volunteers are incredibly hard-working, dedicated and committed caregivers who strive to deliver the best patient care to all Londoners. Their amazing zeal continues to make London Ambulance Service a great place to work.

“I am immensely proud to be part of this organisation and in awe of the wide-ranging acts of bravery, courage and care which are showcased by our winners. It’s been a wonderful year and so much has been achieved. I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate everyone who has won or been nominated for one of these awards.”

Other winners include:

• Team of the Year – North West Sector: Hillingdon Management team
• Team of the Year – North Central Sector: Edmonton Admin team
• Team of the Year – North East Sector: Romford Management team
• Team of the Year – South East Sector: Greenwich – Team H
• Team of the Year – South West Sector: Wimbledon – Team A
• Team of the Year – 999 Operations: EOC Rota implementation team
• Team of the Year – Integrated and Urgent Care: Barking and Croydon
• Team of the Year – Centralised Operations – non-operational: Clinical HUB/Clinical Team Navigators
• Team of the Year – Corporate-patient supporting: Bernard Weatherill House Project
• Team of the Year – Corporate: Procurement
• Team of the Year – Quality Improvement: St Helier – Start of Shift Rapid Improvement Team
• The Rising Star Award: Joe Tucker
• LAS Patient’s Award: Joshua Neumann, Christopher Avery, Thomas Baldwin, Olivia St-Claire and Katie Vaughan

More than 1,300 LAS team members were nominationedby their colleagues for ‘Our LAS Awards’, and judged by the leadership team in partnership with our Patients and Public Council.

You can find out more about exciting career opportunities with the Service here.