Dave Fletcher, founder member of HART (Henfield Area Response Team), received his Queen's Ambulance Service Medal from Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace in November 2012. He was awarded the honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
"It was an incredible day… I am very proud to receive this award" said Dave whose work as a paramedic in Sussex began in 1974. Dave is the co-ordinator of HART - a group of trained local residents who respond to calls from the ambulance control to 999 calls in local communities. "Things have come a long way since I started with the ambulance service…," he said. "We are so very lucky in Sussex, Surrey and Kent to have such dedicated and motivated ambulance staff who work so hard to deliver the very highest standards in resuscitation.”
SECAMB Chief Executive Paul Sutton said: “Dave is very deserving of this award and a perfect recipient to be chosen - the first time ambulance personnel have been recognised in this way. I would like to express both my personal congratulations and that of the Trust for his commitment and dedication over many years.”