Young life-saver celebrated after attending Yorkshire Ambulance Service training course

After successfully completing the Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) Achieve programme, 19-year-old Ben from Bradford put his training into practice when he recognised that his father was very unwell and phoned 999 to raise the alarm.  

Ben, an intern at Coleman Training Development (CTD) which runs supportive training for neurodivergent young people, completed the course last year but recently had to put those skills into action when his father (Paul) suffered a stroke at home. Thanks to Ben’s quick thinking, along with help from his sister (Abigail) and his sister-in-law (Justine), he was able to get Paul the help he needed.  

To celebrate Ben’s quick thinking that saved his father’s life, Ben and his family and friends were invited to Bradford Ambulance Station where Ben was presented with a certificate and letter of commendation from Rachel Gillott, Director of Partnerships and Operations, and Jon Millward, Area Operations Manager, at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust. After the presentation, Ben and his family were given a tour of the station which included looking around emergency vehicles. 

Jon commented: “It is never easy to be faced with a family member in crisis. Ben should feel very proud of his involvement in his father’s care. As a Service, we really value the contribution made by members of the public who come across emergencies of this nature. We couldn’t ask for any more than what Ben did that day.” 

The Trust’s Achieve programme has been running for two years with a range of partners, including Coleman Training Development Ltd (CTD) in Bradford, where several sessions were delivered last year. The programme, funded by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity, has worked with organisations supporting people with addiction recovery, homelessness and mental health support.  

The Achieve programme is a practical skills course designed around values and skills important in the ambulance service and is delivered over six weekly sessions. Achieve teaches valuable life skills, including first aid, for people needing support to improve their lives. The programme is a key part of the Trust’s Community Engagement Strategy, which sets out how targeted programmes of work will be delivered to provide training and employment opportunities, whilst improving people’s lives and teaching valuable life-saving skills. 

Sasha Bipin, YAS Community Engagement Officer, and Dave Jones, YAS Community Engagement Manager, devised a tailored and inclusive programme around employability and personal development for the interns at CTD. Interns have found these workshops engaging due to the different teaching styles, varied activities and appropriate differentiation. 

Commenting on the programme, Sasha said: “Our Community Engagement Team developed the Achieve programme to offer key employability and life skills to our most vulnerable and underserved communities. The programme aims to empower communities by providing them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to thrive in the working world. In line with our Trust’s Community Engagement Strategy, we have partnered with different organisations and community and voluntary groups across Yorkshire and the Humber to successfully deliver Achieve to people in recovery from drug and alcohol use, serving prisoners and vulnerable women. We were happy to bring Achieve to Coleman Training Development to work with neurodivergent young people and develop a bespoke programme, tailored to their needs and learning styles. We were delighted with level of engagement we received from the interns and are pleased to be returning again this year to work with the next cohort of young people.” 

Roxanne Coleman, Director of CTD, said: “These workshops provided valuable experiences for our interns to develop socially and emotionally. The Achieve programme has been a success for all of our interns who have learnt and developed skills and qualities that they have utilised not only at CTD but on volunteering placements. Interns are now equipped with strategies to flourish in their second year where they will be participating in work experience placements for most of the year.”