|
A DATE WITH THE QUEEN!
 A Fort William paramedic this week received the biggest "call -out" of his life!
For Alan Knox has been summoned to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE from the Queen after he was named in Her Majesty's New Year Honours List at the weekend.
Alan (42), a paramedic team leader based at the ambulance station in Inverlochy, said he was "surprised and delighted" at receiving the honour for his work with the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Alan's award comes less than five years after his mother Phyllis was awarded an MBE for services in the community in recognition of her sterling work with Crossroads Care, the Red Cross and Abbeyfield Nursing Home in Ballachulish.
He and wife Elizabeth, a staff nurse at the Belford Hospital, are now looking forward to attending the medal ceremony in London, the date of which has yet to be confirmed.
Alan, who has five children and lives in the town's Glasdrum Road, said: "I'm surprised but delighted and totally honoured to receive this award and my wife is very much looking forward to the big day.
"I'm very fortunate to work with a very proactive ambulance team in Lochaber and this award is as much for my colleagues as it is for me."
The award caps an eventful past year or so for Alan. In October 2004 he represented his Lochaber ambulance service colleagues to be presented with a Scottish Health Award by Health Minister Andy Kerr.
Then, in the summer of 2005, came the highlight of Alan's career when he was placed on duty in Edinburgh and Perthshire for the duration of the G8 Summit.
For 10 days he was one of four motorcycle paramedics based on frontline duty in the capital during the massive Make Poverty History marches and protests and also in and around Gleneagles, the venue for the G8 talks between world leaders.
"Undoubtedly this was the highlight of my career. I was responsible for the safety and preparation of the bikes, " he said. "In the weeks leading up to the event I had also attended scene management courses and I also attended a course in Motherwell where I became an instructor in chemical and biological decontamination.
"I had had some experience working in Edinburgh during events like marathons, but the G8 was something else. It was extremely busy. I've never seen so many people in my life."
Following the G8 Summit, Alan was involved in the initial motorcycle training of two paramedics from Aberdeen before a trial run of paramedics on bikes in the north-east city was launched in late summer.
For a number of years now Alan has also played a key role in training First Responders, volunteers skilled in resuscitation, defibrillation, airway management and the delivery of oxygen for patients suffering breathing difficulties or heart attacks.
First Responders attend to sudden collapses while an ambulance is on its way and Alan, alongside Inverness colleague Andrew Fuller, has overseen training in communities throughout the Highlands and also in the Western Isles.
And, within this hectic schedule, Alan is also heavily involved with Bike Safe and Bike Aid - motorcycle road safety initiatives run in conjunction with Northern Constabulary and Highland Council.
|
