David Bull QAM, the Head of Education at the National Ambulance Resilience Unit (NARU) has been shortlisted for a highly prestigious Health Service Journal (HSJ) Award in the ‘Rising Stars’ category – the only representative of any NHS Ambulance Trust to be shortlisted from over 1,300 entries for the combined 22 award categories, submitted by over 500 UK healthcare organisations.
The HSJ Awards are commonly recognised as being the most prestigious and sought after awards in UK health, championing best practice and innovation to overcome the challenges that face the health sector.
Keith Prior, Director of NARU and David’s current line manager, says:
“I was extremely proud to hear that David has been shortlisted for this award, which shows that NARU has some excellent people on board pushing through new innovations and delivering cost-effective patient care. I know from three years working alongside David that he is always coming up with new ideas, works very hard and has driven national ambulance education forward by demonstrating initiative, innovation, determination, confidence and leadership. Winning this award would be excellent recognition for David and would really underline the work of the whole NARU team, who work alongside David every day to help deliver his objectives.”
The HSJ Rising Star Award 2014 is designed to highlight the NHS’s exceptional younger leaders and / or those professionals in a non-board director (or equivalent) position who are already making change happen – the ones who are taking brave decisions, and asking important questions – and who are simultaneously preparing to deliver excellent healthcare in the future. The award aims to recognise the influencers of today, and the senior leaders of tomorrow.
David must now compete against ten other shortlisted nominees to win the coveted HSJ Rising Star Award 2014 (sponsored by Celesio UK) by giving a presentation and undertaking an interview with a specific judging panel made up of senior and influential figures from the health sector, including Ian Cumming, Chief Executive of Health Education England, Martin Else, Former Chief Executive of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Diane Brown, Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Liverpool Women’s Foundation Trust and Cormac Tobin, Managing Director of Celesio UK.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
- Innovative work which has delivered demonstrable change
- Excellent networking at all levels, with colleagues and patients alike
- Mentorship of other young leaders
- A dedication to compassionate, evidence-based care
- Sharing knowledge widely
- A commitment to finding better ways of doing things
HSJeditor Alastair McLellan said:
“The HSJ Awards are the greatest celebration of one of the world’s finest healthcare systems. The excellence it recognises is the best example of why the NHS remains Britain’s best loved institution.”
David, 44, lives in Sussex with his family and following 14 years in the Army, joined the former Sussex Ambulance Service in 2000, working as a Paramedic in Brighton before being seconded to work on delivering national multi-agency command training for the former Ambulance Service Association (ASA). He was then asked to lead the development of training and education for the national Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) programme on behalf of the Department of Health and is now Head of Education & Training at NARU.
In June 2013 David was awarded The Queen’s Ambulance Service Medal (QAM) in recognition for his commitment to national ambulance education and training. The award honours a very small, select group of ambulance personnel who have shown exceptional devotion to duty, outstanding ability, merit and conduct in their roles within NHS Ambulance Services.
