Colleagues from across our Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland division were recognised for their long service and outstanding contribution in a ceremony at Badgers Mount Hotel, Elmesthorpe.
650 years of combined service to EMAS and the wider NHS was celebrated on the day, with staff receiving awards for 10, 20, 30 and even 50 years of service.
Staff were also recognised for their commitment to EMAS in the Divisional Director Awards and retiring staff were also acknowledged on the day.
Vice Lord Lieutenant for Leicestershire, Colonel Richard Hurwood DL and The High Sheriff of Leicestershire Mr Meldin (Mel) Thomas QPM joined leaders, frontline colleagues and support staff to celebrate the outstanding milestones and contribution achieved.
Keeley Sheldon, Director of Quality at East Midlands Ambulance Service said:
“I always find these events such a privilege to be invited to and to celebrate with you. It is an honour to acknowledge how many years service, the dedication and commitment everybody has given to the NHS.
“It is every part of everything you do every day with that lived experience that makes the NHS such a fantastic place to work in.”
Award recipients included:
10 years
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Annie Arnold
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David Baugh
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Natalie Blake
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Dean Cooper
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Edward Dutton
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Nicole Grant
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Neil Grewcock
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Heath (Ted) Ismay
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Melissa Mackenzie-Bryans
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Samuel Marshall
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Sam Murfin
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Christine O’Donovan
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Asha Patel
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Aziz Patel
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Gavin Smith
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Neil Stevenson
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Edward Williams
20 years
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Shabir Ahmed
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Stephen Ashwell
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Tony Barber
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Paul Gordon
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Sarah Hargraves
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Trev Jones
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David Joyce
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Katie Watts
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Karen Knight
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Tom Martin
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Neal McCurdy
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Louise Moore
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James Ogleby
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Julie O’Reardon
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Jill Parker
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Katie Poole
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Victoria Hicken
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Benjamin Sandford
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Rachel Swift
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Jason Tebbutt
30 years
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Mark Stephens
50 years
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Mervyn Disney
Excellence Awards
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Daniel Bentick, Clinical Educator/Mentor of the Year
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Benjamin Gray – Student/Learner of the Year
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Simon Jackson, Compassionate Leader
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Samuel Johnson, Contribution to Station Life
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Holly Moore, Support Staff Award
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Annis Rowley, Rising Star
Retirement
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Michael Thrift
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Guy Worrall
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Narendra Mistry
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Peter Lewin
Congratulations to everyone recognised on the day.
Staff stories
Mervyn Disney - 50 years service
Mervyn Disney has given an exceptional lifetime of service to the ambulance service, beginning his career on 3 February 1975 as an Ambulance Driver with Leicestershire Ambulance Service. From the outset, Merv demonstrated a strong commitment to patient care, reliability, and professionalism, laying the foundations for what would become a remarkable and enduring career in the emergency services.
In April 1999, following the formation of East Midlands Ambulance Service, Merv transitioned into the role of Ambulance Technician, continuing to serve patients with dedication and skill through a period of significant organisational change. After retiring in 2012, his commitment to the service and its values remained evident when he returned to take on the role of Emergency Care Assistant, once again contributing to frontline patient care and supporting colleagues across the service.
On 24 June 2025, Merv moved into the role of Fleet Driver within Northamptonshire Division, where he has continued to demonstrate the same professionalism, reliability and positive attitude that have characterised his long career. In this role, he has quickly become a valued and well-liked member of the team, consistently delivering excellent support and service.
Merv is fondly remembered by colleagues from his time with the Goodwood Urgent team, where he was known for his infectious laugh and his ability to lift the spirits of those around him. His warm personality and good humour made him a well-loved colleague, always ready to bring a smile to others even during the busiest of shifts. This combination of dedication, experience, and positivity has left a lasting impression on everyone he has worked with.
His commitment, kindness, and ability to bring people together through humour and friendship have made him a truly valued member of the EMAS family, both past and present.
Mervyn said:
“I feel very proud to be receiving an award for 50 years’ service. It is an excellent achievement, possibly never going to be achieved again.
“I never thought when I started that I would be here 50 years later at all, but it is a different ambulance service now altogether. I am thinking about retiring next year. I am part time now as a Fleet driver and want to head out casually so that is what I am doing. I do enjoy the role I am in at the moment and it is great.
“A lot of my family are in the NHS so I am looking forward to being able to put my medals up on the wall which show my achievements.”
Rob Moore - Divisional Special Recognition Award
Rob Moore was the recipient of a special recognition award chosen by Susannah Ashton, Divisional Director for Leicestershire for his role in the organisation of Exercise Mercury.
Rob wanted to organise a multi-agency live exercise which was designed to test the ability of the emergency services to work together at a large scale incident and the effectiveness of the plans each agency has in place, something which has never been done before within the area on this large scale.
Responders from EMAS, Leicestershire Police, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue, local authorities, the Leicestershire Resilience Partnership and National Highways took part, with support for EMAS from Elite EMS and The Air Ambulance Service (TAAS). The exercise was a success with all organisations taking learning from the event which has helped develop their skills in responding to incidents such as the one played out in Exercise Mercury.
Rob said: “It is really nice to be recognised. As a paramedic by background, we don’t come to work to be thanked, we come to work to do the best we can. I threw myself into Exercise Mercury to make sure that individuals taking part across EMAS could get the best out of it and I went away after it hoping that had been achieved.
“To get recognition feels very special and hopefully I have made a difference with a lasting legacy from the lessons learned and what people have taken away from it.
“What I did was ambitious but was really fun to get involved in, however I don’t have any plans to do anything as large scale as that again! Once was enough, however I would love to take part in one as I didn’t get to take part in this one as I was busy running it!”