Gloucestershire paramedic recognised in King’s New Year Honours
Vicki Brown, an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Critical Care at South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) and Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC), has been recognised in the King’s New Year Honours.
Vicki, from Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, has been awarded the King’s Ambulance Service Medal.
Vicki has been a paramedic for nearly 20 years and has dedicated her last 17 years of service to working on air ambulances in the region, most recently, GWAAC which she joined in 2012.
Driven by a desire to provide the best quality care to patients, Vicki has worked tirelessly to enhance patient care for those critically ill and injured in the South West and nationally. Her dedication has led her to:
- Develop a system so that paramedic practitioners could carry and administer blood at Great Western Air Ambulance Charity. This means that patients can now receive blood products earlier in their treatment, if needed.
- Initiate the development of pre-hospital ultrasound. This means that clinicians have a tool to help diagnose conditions and injuries to enable appropriate management and treatment of patients.
- Recently obtain the Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care and become accredited with the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care as a consultant practitioner in pre-hospital emergency medicine. Vicki is the first person from a purely paramedic background to achieve this status.
- Following the recommendations of the Manchester Arena Inquiry, NHS England set up a Task and Finish Working Group to improve the clinical response to major incidents. With her proven track record in leading clinical development within a robust governance framework, Vicki has been chosen to chair a main subgroup.
On being awarded the King’s Ambulance Service Medal, Vicki said: “I feel very honoured and humbled to receive this award. I am proud to be a paramedic and will continue to work to progress the profession as best I can.”
Philip Cowburn MBE, Medical Director at South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, who nominated Vicki for the award, said: “Vicki has dedicated her career to advancing paramedic practice and delivering improved prehospital patient care. She remains an example to all, acting as a superb role model and inspirational frontline clinical leader.”
Tim Ross-Smith, Operations Officer, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, said: "Everyone at GWAAC is hugely proud of Vicki and everything she has achieved in her career. She is rightly deserving of this honour and we couldn't be happier for her."
Vicki will collect the King’s Ambulance Service Medal later in the year.