Duke visits King’s Lynn crews
Tuesday, 14 July, 2020
Last month, The Duke of Cambridge visited staff from the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) to thank them for their hard work and dedication during the COVID-19 outbreak and hear more about their experiences of delivering care during the pandemic.
Prince William met frontline crews and support staff at King's Lynn Ambulance Station, which is at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital site.
During the visit, he heard about the extra steps which have been taken to make sure that EEAST has been able to continue to provide high quality services throughout the pandemic, such as working collaboratively with the military and other blue lights services.
Among the staff to meet The Duke was paramedic Aimee Horton, who has worked for EEAST for seven years. She said: "It was very thoughtful for The Duke to choose to visit us and nice to know that we are in his thoughts."
Senior paramedic Rebecca Endersby said: "We are all proud of the work we have done at EEAST during the pandemic. The ambulance service has always considered itself as a family which looks after each other. COVID-19 has shown just how much we care about one another and we are delighted that His Royal Highness recognises this."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge launched the 'Our Frontline' initiative in April, which provides round-the-clock mental health and bereavement support to frontline staff and key workers. Supported by The Royal Foundation, Our Frontline is run in partnership with Mind, Samaritans, Hospice UK and Shout85258.
Commenting on the visit, Terry Hicks, EEAST's head of operations for Norfolk and Waveney, said: "We were honoured to receive The Duke to meet with staff today.
"The Duke was interested to hear of the crews' experiences of working through the pandemic and how this had impacted on the wellbeing of themselves and their families, and of the support mechanisms which are available.
"We would like to thank The Duke for continuing to raise awareness of mental wellbeing, especially among NHS and emergency services workers."
