Maureen Barratt Award

Ed : we received this from Amanda Mitchell, operations manager at West Midlands Ambulance Service
"I thought I'd let you know about a very special lady, Mrs. Maureen Barratt,a resident of Audlem, who we've recently recognised for her outstanding contribution to the Ambulance Service ... 51 years of volunteering"

Half a Century of Volunteering

An incredible 51 years ago, Patient Transport Service Volunteer Car Driver (VCD), Maureen Barratt, started volunteering. On Monday 10th June 2024, Maureen and members of her family attended Crewe PTS Hub where she was presented with a commendation, along with flowers and cake from Senior Operations Manager (SOM), Steven Hockenhull.

Maureen said: Volunteering has kept me going, it's been absolutely great. Sometimes, I have so much going on in my life that coming in to volunteer feels like a rewarding way to spend my free time, and can actually feel like a rest!" Initially Maureen joined the team at Leighton Hospital taking elderly people to and from day care and this progressed into more general outpatient transport. She then went on to volunteer for the Cheshire County Ambulance Service and continued with Mersey Regional, then with North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), and now with the Trust as a VCD. Prior to this, Maureen would spend time transporting children to nursery in Crewe.

Outside of her volunteering endeavours, Maureen is married to husband, Derek and had two twin boys and a daughter, tragically losing one of her boys to cancer. Maureen is grandmother to five grandchildren and three great grandchildren, along with a garden full of old tractors lovingly restored by Derek.

The presentation was made by our Senior Operations Manager, Mr. Steven Hockenhull (email address as above, should you need any further information) accompanied by our Operations Manager for Cheshire, Mr. Drew Butler. Maureen was accompanied to the presentation by her husband, Derek, and various members of her immediate family.

In addition to Derek, Steve & Drew, the attached photographs show Maureen being presented with a bouquet of flowers from the Patient Transport Services (PTS) Team at Crewe hub, by the Hub Supervisor, Mr. Ian Mottershead.

I do hope you can find space to share this good heartwarming news.

Amanda Mitchell