BRAVERY and quick-thinking medical expertise were recognised at the Dorset Ambulance NHS Trust Awards.

Members of the public, as well as ambulance staff, were rewarded for their actions which saved lives in incidents across the county.

More than 130 people gathered at The Crown Hotel, Blandford, for the tenth annual awards ceremony.

Chief executive John Cape, chairman Trevor Jones and other top executives presented the awards to paramedics, drivers, control room staff and service trainees at the ceremony.

The winners are nominated by staff with nominations assessed by a panel in each category.

The presentations included the Commendation for Public Response Award, the Emergency Medical Advice Award, Control Person of the Year, Ambulance Care Assistant of the Year Award, Paramedic of the Year Award and the Staff Excellence Award.

Certificates of proficiency were also presented to trainee ambulancemen and women, paramedics and control room staff.

Mr Cape said the ceremony brought to public awareness the extraordinary work of ambulance staff and members of the public in saving lives.

He added: "Clearly when you're dealing with the kind of cases we deal with, you come across some quite stressful and emotional situations.

"Because we recognise that by picking out a few of the cases it shows we do appreciate the contribution that staff make. It also brings in the public, particularly our community responders, who provide a vital service by being able to get to emergencies quicker than some ambulances."

Anyone who is interested in becoming a community responder is asked to ring Dorset Ambulance on (01202) 896111.

Greenhouse fall woman indebted to village team

A WEST Dorset woman told how neighbours saved her life after she fell through a greenhouse window.

Rachael Whitbread, 52, of Thorncombe, severed both main arteries, 11 tendons and all the nerves in her arm when she tripped while gardening.

Now fully recovered after a nine-and-a-half-hour operation, she praised the village's community response team that came to her rescue.

The Thorncombe team was presented with the Community Responder Award by service chairman Trevor Jones.

The scheme was set up three years ago by villagers who feared ambulances wouldn't reach emergency cases in the remote village in time.

After Mrs Whitbread called 999, the nearest ambulance, in Bridport, reached her in half-an-hour, but neighbours Richard and Pauline Holt, members of the community response team, were at her home in four minutes.

Mrs Whitbread said: "If I'd waited for the ambulance I would have died. I am just so grateful to them."

The ambulance crew reported a 'most professional job' had been done. The Dorset ambulance control room calls the Thorncombe team member on duty when any 999 call from the area comes in.

Rosemary Walley, 59, former postmistress of Thorncombe and driving force behind the scheme, appealed for other remote areas to set up their own teams. The Thorncombe team has 10 members, serving 700 people and has taken more than 100 calls since it was founded.

She said: "We are a remote village and we decided to help ourselves, because if someone suffers a cardiac arrest we wouldn't have a chance."

Phone help vital to stroke man's wife

A PENSIONER suffered a stroke while watching a news bulletin about the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

The man's life was saved by his wife, who followed advice given to her over the phone by ambulance staff.

Control room call-operator Michelle Brown, 20, was presented the Emergency Medical Advice Award after giving vital instruction to Muriel Pearse while she waited for an ambulance for her husband Raymond, 65.

Ms Brown told Mrs Pearse, 64, how to clear her husband's airways, enabling him to breath until the ambulance crew arrived.

Dorset man Mr Pearse said: "The speed and efficiency of Michelle and the ambulance service is why I'm sitting here talking today. I was watching the twin towers on television at about 8pm on September 11. My wife came in and I was passed out cold on the sofa. I had no heartbeat and I was later told in eight minutes I would have been dead."

Upon recovering from his stroke, Mr Pearse visited the control room to offer his thanks.

Chemists praised for saving woman

STAFF of Boots the Chemists performed a life-saving resuscitation when a woman collapsed in the Weymouth branch.

Pharmacist Richard Buxton, of Weymouth, and his assistant Ian Gatrill, formerly of Weymouth but who has moved to Jersey, rushed to the rescue after the woman fell to the floor in the midst of shoppers.

The two were presented with the Commendation for Public Response Award by ambulance service chairman Trevor Jones.

Recognising the need for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Mr Buxton and Mr Gatrill did not hesitate to begin emergency work on the woman.

When the ambulance crew arrived, they noted the patient was well perfused, a sign that highly effective CPR was being carried out.

The staff continued with the CPR and provided vital assistance to the ambulance team.