The importance of awarding excellence

Last month marked the announcement of the recipients of the Queen's Birthday Honours, which recognise individuals who have made achievements in public life and committed themselves to serving and helping Britain.

Through the Honours system, there are well-established awards for recognising individuals, and while they are not specific to the ambulance service, they still allow for the acknowledgement of an individual's outstanding service to the community.

However, since its introduction in June 2012, The Queen's Ambulance Service Medal (QAM) has allowed ambulance staff to officially receive an award for distinguished service to the public or profession in their operational role (Department of Health, 2011). It is testament to the progression of the paramedic profession that ambulance staff have finally been given the same level of royal recognition as other members of the emergency services. Implementation for the provision of a medal for police and fire services was first introduced by a royal warrant in 1909, in the form of the King's Police Medal (Gladstone, 1909).