National award for East of England Ambulance and Magpas crews for bringing 13-year-old back to life after cardiac arrest

Crews from the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) and Magpas Air Ambulance have received a national award for their efforts in bringing a 13-year-old in cardiac arrest back to life.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak presented the team with the 999 Hero award at the Sun’s Who Cares Win awards at a star-studded ceremony at the Roundhouse in London on Sunday (November 27).

The team won the award for their work in saving the life of Daisy Webb, who suffered a cardiac arrest when walking to school in Huntingdon in April.

EEAST crew members Grace Lemin, Harrison Galgut and Charlie Harris arrived within minutes of the 999 call from Tommy Sadler, 15, and his mum Linda. They discovered Daisy had had a cardiac arrest, and began CPR and shocked Daisy’s heart until her pulse returned.

The crews then handed over care to colleagues from Magpas Air Ambulance: Dr James Price and Critical Care Paramedics Steve Chambers and Thomas Giddings.

The team performed a rapid general anaesthetic at the incident scene – a procedure usually only available in a hospital – to protect Daisy’s vital functions before she was transferred by land to Addenbrooke’s Hospital for further care. She has since made a full recovery.

Lesley Hall, Leading Operations Manager with EEAST who was also on scene during the incident, said: “We are all so proud to receive the award which recognised the incredible teamwork that saved Daisy’s life on that day in April.

“We often talk about the chain of survival in our work and the actions of everyone involved changed the course of what could have happened to Daisy – from Tommy and Linda calling 999, to Charlie, Grace and Harrison taking their swift action to get Daisy’s heart started and to the seamless transition of care to the Magpas Air Ambulance critical care team.

“Thanks to everyone involved Daisy has the rest of life in front of her.

“We all had an amazing evening meeting so many famous faces and it was great to receive recognition for the work that we do, as the past two years have been challenging for ambulance services and the NHS as a whole.”

Tom Abell, Chief Executive of East of England Ambulance Service, added: “I am really pleased to hear that Daisy is recovering well. Everyone at EEAST is immensely proud of the team involved in saving Daisy’s life and receiving the 999 Hero award at The Sun’s Who Cares Wins awards.

“Our dedicated staff do lifesaving work like this every day, and this national recognition for this wonderful team will hopefully serve as a boost to their colleagues who are all working incredibly hard."