London Ambulance Service Honours 1,700 Years of Dedication at Celebration of Service Event
By Community Correspondent
The extraordinary commitment of 70 members of staff at the London Ambulance Service has been recognised at an emotional Celebration of Service ceremony held in central London on Thursday (13 November).
Colleagues from across the organisation — from frontline paramedics and 999 call handlers to dispatchers and corporate staff — were honoured for passing milestone years of service.
Together, the group has contributed more than 1,700 years to caring for Londoners in emergencies.
Among those recognised was paramedic Nick Osborne, Operations Officer for the Service’s Tactical Response Unit, which responds to terror attacks, firearms incidents and other major emergencies in the capital.
“It really doesn’t feel like 30 years because I love what I do,” he said. “I’ve been a paramedic on ambulances, a flight paramedic on London’s Air Ambulance and now I’ve got the most exciting job of the lot!”
Frontline staff marking 20 years of service were awarded either the Queen’s or King’s Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, while corporate colleagues received the London Ambulance Service Medallion.
Those with 30 or 40 years of service were given Clasps or pin badges recognising their continued contribution.
Eligibility rules were updated last year, allowing 999 call handlers and dispatchers to receive long service medals for the first time. Among the recipients were dispatcher Zafar Sardar and watch manager Marnie Parker.
Marnie said: “Every day is different. I started as a call handler, and over the phone you can help a mum deliver a baby or instruct someone giving CPR. On a day like this you think about all the thousands of lives you’ve helped. And now my daughter has joined the Service.”
Zafar added: “I never intended to stay this long, but it’s such a rewarding job. Lots has changed, but there’s always been teamwork and that drive to help people.”
Chief Executive Jason Killens — who began his career at the London Ambulance Service in 1996 — presented the medals, joined by Chair Andy Trotter, Chief Medical Officer Fenella Wrigley, Chief Financial Officer Rakesh Patel and Chief Paramedic Pauline Cranmer.
Jason said: “I want to say a heartfelt thank you for the incredible dedication of our people who have given more than 1,700 years of service. That’s 1,700 years of saving lives, helping patients and caring for Londoners in their moments of greatest need. We are immensely proud of their contribution and the way they have shaped the Service we are today.”
The London Ambulance Service, part of the NHS, is the busiest ambulance service in the UK and relies on thousands of staff and volunteers who respond to emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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