A committed air ambulance representative who previously worked in Bromsgrove has marked 20 years of service with a special lifetime achievement award.

Ian Roberts, who is the charity's Care Quality Commission (CQC) manager, was recognised with the honour at the national Air Ambulances UK (AAUK) Awards of Excellence 2023. 

Beginning his career in 1983 at Worcester Ambulance Station, Mr Roberts has worked with the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity for more than two decades and has an ambulance career spanning more than 40 years. 

This includes spending time as a control officer before taking on the role of divisional officer for Worcestershire in which he managed all seven ambulance stations across the county. 

By 1999, Mr Roberts, who is from Bewdley, returned to the road and worked as a relief staff member in Bromsgrove where he met his partner, Jayne White, who now also works for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. 

Chief Executive for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, Hanna Sebright, said: "Ian's commitment to our pre-hospital emergency service knows no bounds. He has played an intrinsic part in enabling our charity to develop and grow and has helped us gain our CQC registration. 

"Since then, Ian has facilitated the construction phase of our new Cosford airbase and charity headquarters to ensure it has all the requirements to help us future-proof our lifesaving service and continue to always put patient care and safety first above anything else.

“I have had the pleasure to work with Ian for more than 15 years and beyond am proud that he has been recognised for his dedication to saving lives across the Midlands.”

More recently, Mr Roberts successfully applied for a secondment to Air Operations and joined the air ambulance in May 2003 before becoming air operations manager in 2014. 

This followed a decade of helping to implement and manage West Midlands Ambulance Service's Regional Trauma Desk and Medical Emergency Response Incident Team (MERIT) systems. 

In 2020, Mr Roberts, who is also a qualified paramedic, retired but was asked to rejoin the charity to offer consultancy and advice to the Senior Leadership Team. 

He also took on the shared role of CQC registered manager in April 2022. 

Critical care paramedic and Strensham airbase team leader for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, Julian Spiers, said: "Ian's relaxed but no-nonsense approach has made him a popular and indispensable member of our charity's Senior Leadership Team. 

"His lifetime achievement award is truly deserved for his commitment to patient care." 

To find out more visit www.midlandsairambulance.com/clinical