National recognition for First Responder
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AN Inverurie man whose devotion to helping save lives has seen him announced as a finalist in this year’s Scottish Health Awards, the annual celebration of the hard work and dedication of people working in healthcare across the country.
David Gauld from Inverurie First Responders is nominated for the Volunteer Award.
As a community first responder in Inverurie, he provides life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until paramedics take over.
Not only does David save lives, but he also gives comfort and support to the families and friends of the person in cardiac arrest.
Commenting, David said: “I just feel so proud and I feel humbled, as I've always said, it's not about me, it's about the whole group here in Inverurie.
“It's a great honour, not only for me, but the lovely people, dedicated people in the group here in Inverurie and district and all over the north-east and beyond.”
David has been involved with the organisation since the Inverurie First Responders were founded and 2003 and they have treated over 3000 patients over the years and David said it has been a “huge success story”.
Ahead of the awards ceremony, David said he is “really looking forward to it” and “it is a big honour for everyone to be there”.
To reach this stage, each finalist has already been assessed by a panel of NHS Scotland representatives and Scottish Government officials.
They will now need to wait until the award ceremony on November 14 in Edinburgh, when the winners will be announced.
Elsewhere in the north-east, YouChoose3 Collaborative from Health and Social Care is nominated for the Innovation Award.
NHS Grampian introduced BeHealthy: YouChoose3 as a participatory budgeting project, in which members of the public were asked to choose how funds would be spent.
Also nominated is KidsforCAMHS is a group of young volunteers aged between eight and 12 years old and have been nominated for the Volunteer Award.
The group came together to raise money for NHS Grampian’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Aberdeen, bringing in a total of £10,000, doubling the original target.
The Scottish Health Awards pay tribute to the NHS staff, support workers, volunteers and specialist teams who go above and beyond to provide exceptional care and support to patients and their families.
The 17 diverse categories recognise the hard work and dedication of healthcare professionals from across the country.
The Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Jeane Freeman, MSP said: “Every year the Scottish Health Awards provide an important opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the work of the really dedicated individuals and teams who deliver high quality health and care services to the people of Scotland.
“We continue to make a difference to people’s lives thanks to our dedicated staff, working across the NHS, partners in health and social care, voluntary organisations and more.
“Each achievement and success wouldn’t have happened without their hard work and commitment and I’d want to thank them for that.”
