Staff at the North East Ambulance Service will pay their respects to servicemen 
Colleagues from across all four corners of the service, including emergency care, scheduled care, emergency operations centre (EOC) and support services, will attend regional events and lay wreaths on behalf of the service alongside colleagues from their partner emergency services and armed forces organisations.
The service, which employs over 400 veterans and currently serving military of staff, is one of only 222 NHS trusts and independent organisations across the country to be recognised as a Veteran Aware employer. NEAS signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant in 2020 and since then, the service has worked its way up through the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS) accreditation process before successfully being awarded the Gold employer award.
Karen Gardner, Assistant Director of People Development at NEAS, said: “As we approach Remembrance Day, we are once again reminded of the sacrifices many men and women have made for our country. Over 400 of these brave individuals now work in our service and it is important to us as an organisation that we take the time each year to mark Remembrance Day.
“Many of our brilliant colleagues will be volunteering their own time to represent the service this weekend at the region’s Remembrance services, and will be laying wreaths on behalf of the organisation. Thank you to everyone who is involved in marking such an important day.”
Colleagues from the Trust will be attending the services at;
Saturday 9 November:
- Durham
Sunday 10 November:
- Berwick
- Newton Aycliffe
- London
- Newcastle
- Crooke
- Guisburgh
- Cramlington
- Long Benton
- Whickham
- Middlesbrough
- Eston
- Sedgefield
- Thornaby
- Forest Hall
- Amble
- Whitley Bay
- Barnard Castle
Monday 11 November
-
Morpeth
NEAS Emergency Preparedness, Resilience, and Response (EPRR) team colleagues Marianne Walton, David Graham, and Stuart Storey will be attending the Festival of Remembrance at Durham Cathedral on Saturday 9 November, and in London, Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) training manager, Phil Blance, will attend the national memorial march and service at the Cenotaph on Monday 11 November.
Ms Gardner continues, “Colleagues who have joined us with a military background report being able to build on their previous Armed Forces knowledge and skills, with huge benefits from the mutual sharing of knowledge, training and support.
“The behaviours, skills, and knowledge that Veterans have developed and embody during their service careers are, and will continue to be, an asset to NEAS across any job role. They are rightly very proud of the service they have given, and often continue to give, to their country, and we are equally proud of them and the valuable contribution they continue to make through working for us.
“If you are veteran or reservist looking for a role in the community, please consider NEAS.”
Among those veterans and currently serving military of staff, within the service is paramedic apprentice, Caylie Maclean, who began her army career in 2003 aged just 18-years-old.
Trained as a combat medical technician within the 16 Close Support Medical Regiment, she provided medical cover in Afghanistan, Kenya, and Oman before retiring in 2011 to begin a family.
Upon leaving the forces, she became a healthcare assistant in a local hospital, but her heart was always set on the ambulance service. She said: “I always knew I wanted to work on the ambulances, so I joined NEAS in 2011 as a clinical care assistant and was lucky to get accepted onto our internal paramedic apprenticeship scheme. I’ve just started my second year on the scheme and I’m loving it.”
Find out more about the support we offer veterans and our armed forces accreditations by visiting: https://