British Ebola Workers Honoured At Pride Of Britain Awards
British aid workers who risked their lives to save thousands of Ebola victims and emergency medics who scaled a rollercoaster to save the victims of the Alton Towers crash have been honoured for their actions.
British aid workers who risked their lives to save thousands of Ebola victims and emergency medics who scaled a rollercoaster to save the victims of the Alton Towers crash have been honoured for their actions.
They are among the winners of this year's Pride of Britain awards, which recognise courage, selflessness and achievement against the odds.
More than 2,000 British healthcare workers volunteered to go on the front line to fight Ebola in west Africa where more than 11,000 people have died from the virus.
The focus has been on Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia where 28,000 people have been struck down by Ebola since February last year.
The special recognition award for the British Ebola Aid Effort recognises that the dedication and care of British support workers helped to contain the outbreak and reduce the number of deaths.
It notes that doctors, nurses and support staff willingly went to the worst-affected areas to set up treatment centres even though they risked catching Ebola as they lived and worked alongside victims.
British nurses Will Pooley, 30, of Suffolk, and Pauline Cafferkey, 37, of Glasgow, and British Army medic Corporal Anna Cross, 25, of Cambridge, have all recovered after being treated for the contagious disease.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: The Ebola outbreak was one of the most devastating epidemics of our generation, but we managed to stop its spread thanks to the hard work of British people who travelled to west Africa.''
Army doctor Major David Cooper, 34, and aircrew paramedic Tom Waters, 27, were on duty with Midlands Air Ambulance when they were called to Alton Towers following the crash on the Smiler ride on June 2.
Dr Ben Clark, 40, a volunteer with North Staffordshire BASICS emergency doctors, was also part of the emergency response team.
Despite having limited rope training, they ignored health and safety rules to climb the structure to save the lives of the trapped victims.
All three said they did not think twice about risking their own lives - especially when they realised how serious the situation was for Leah Washington, 18, who had suffered a life-threatening bleed from a severed artery.
Their efforts included a partial amputation at a height of 35ft-40ft and carrying out a life-saving blood transfusion while she was still trapped.
Mr Waters said the need outweighed the risk'' while Mr Cooper added:We just did what we needed to do.''
The men spent four precarious hours tending to the most seriously injured, and did not come down from the rollercoaster until the victims were freed.
Former England football captain David Beckham is among a host of famous faces set to attend the ceremony in central London, along with the Prince of Wales, Sir Bruce Forsyth and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.