Dedicated East Midlands Ambulance Service worker decorated with Queen’s Ambulance Medal by His Royal Highness, William, The Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle

A hardworking and dedicated paramedic been awarded with the Queen’s Ambulance Medal.

The honour was presented to Cherylene Camps by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales at an investiture at Windsor Castle on February 1.

Cherylene, who has worked at EMAS for nearly 26 years, was selected to receive the medal in recognition of her exceptional devotion to duty, outstanding ability, merit and conduct in her role.

“It was a surreal, magical and emotional day which I can safely say I will never forget." Said Cherylene.

“I felt very smart and super proud to be wearing the EMAS dress uniform and getting the opportunity to represent my profession at such an important event.

“I had been practicing my curtseying leading up to my meeting with Prince William as it was important for me to get this right.”

While being decorated with the Queen’s Ambulance Medal, Cherylene had a rare opportunity to have a one to one conversation with the Prince.

She said: “His Royal Highness was keen to talk about my work in the air ambulance service, given his history serving as a pilot, and we discussed the different aircraft types.

“We then spoke about the importance of public access defibrillators and mentioned how effective and early bystander CPR followed by early defibrillation can really improve someone’s chances of survival when in cardiac arrest.”

Cherylene was announced as having received the medal as part of the late Queen’s Birthday Honours on June 2 last year.

“While it’s a great honour and privilege to have received this medal in recognition of my service, it’s not lost on me that none of what I have been able to achieve would have been possible without the amazing teamwork at EMAS.” Said Cherylene.

“My acceptance of this award is dedicated to everyone who has supported my professional and personal development in the ambulance service over the last 26 years. I recognise that this is not an individual award, but only achievable by a whole team approach”

Cherylene joined Nottinghamshire Ambulance Service in 1997, originally working in Patient Transport Service before progressing through other frontline roles and into management for the Nottinghamshire division of EMAS.

She later went on to become one of the first paramedics to undertake a Master’s Degree in Advanced Clinical Practice at the University of Nottingham, and achieved her dream of working for the air ambulance as a Critical Care paramedic, which she continues to this day.

Cherylene has also held the role of Clinical Development Lead at EMAS where she helped set up the Cardiac Arrest Leads network forming part of the wider Cardiac Arrest Strategy within the service.

Now, as a Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, she is using her knowledge to help develop and enhance the clinical skills of the next generation of frontline ambulance crews and advanced clinical practice.

“I want to be able to show and share my medal with others whenever the opportunity arises as a source of inspiration." Said Cherylene.

“It’s a symbol that anyone can achieve their dreams and has the potential to be a driver for positive change within the ambulance service if they set their minds to it.

“If this can happen to me then it can happen to anyone if they keep believing and have a genuine passion for what they do.

“I am committed to our patients and remain motivated by the fact that we all want to be able to deliver exceptional care the first time, be kind and safe – otherwise we wouldn’t be doing what we do.”