Paramedic Wayne celebrates MBE after sepsis recovery

A South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) Paramedic is celebrating being made an MBE after recovering from severe sepsis.

Former soldier Wayne Ingram from Weymouth in Dorset was given the accolade in the 2021 Queen's birthday honours list for his fundraising efforts. 

Wayne raised £140,000 to pay for a series of operations for four-year-old Stefan Savic from Bosnia who had a rare facial cleft.

Wayne and Stefan first met on Army patrol in Bosnia in 2003, and Stefan went on to make a full recovery.

Wayne said: “I’m honoured to have been given an MBE. My headmaster said I wouldn’t make anything of my life, because I left school with very few qualifications. But I joined the military as soon as I could, and have spent my adult life serving my country. So this means a lot. I’m still in shock!”

In 2017, the former staff-sergeant became the first British citizen to receive a humanitarian award in Serbia for his efforts to help Stefan.

His other charity work included a sponsored bike ride to build a new orphanage in Mauritania, Northwest Africa where he was working as a remote paramedic practitioner.

He also spent seven days on a life raft in Portland Harbour with very limited food and water to raise £15,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Wayne volunteered as a helicopter medic during the first wave of the pandemic, transferring Covid-19 patients from Shetland Islands to mainland Britain.

He developed severe sepsis in early June after being bitten by an insect while walking his dog, and spent more than a week in hospital.

Wayne added: “It came on very quickly and knocked me for six. But I received fantastic care and a lot of antibiotics! And I’m fully recovered now.”