Celebrating our volunteers!

It’s Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June 2026), and Yorkshire Ambulance Service is proud to recognise, celebrate and thank our volunteers for the remarkable contribution they make across Yorkshire every day.

Volunteers play a vital role within the organisation, giving their time, compassion and skills to help us provide safe, effective and patient-centred care.

During 2025, nearly 1,000 volunteers gave almost 290,000 hours to support 58,782 patients and communities in a range of roles, including:

• Community First Responders (CFRs) - volunteers who attend emergency incidents in their local communities and provide immediate, potentially life-saving care until ambulance crews arrive.
• Patient Transport Service (PTS) Volunteers - volunteers who use their own vehicles to help eligible patients travel to and from vital medical appointments.
• Critical Friends Network - volunteers who represent the patient voice and help shape and improve our services.
• Community Engagement Volunteers - staff and existing volunteers who work with local communities to share essential skills such as first aid and basic life support, while also promoting careers in the ambulance service.
• Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity Champions - staff who raise money for the YAS Charity, supporting the wellbeing of YAS staff and volunteers and helping fund community initiatives such as basic first aid training.

We are also thankful for the support of external volunteer programmes, including the British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS), Mountain Rescue and Pets as Therapy.

This year, we will mark Volunteers’ Week by celebrating the dedication of our volunteers and recognising the long-term commitment they have shown to supporting our patients, communities and colleagues.

For the first time, the volunteer Long Service Awards has been combined with the Trust’s main staff Long Service Awards, which will be held on 2 June in Harrogate, and will recognise 67 volunteers who have given 717 years of service. See below for some of their inspiring stories.

Amy Ingham, Volunteer Development Manager for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “The volunteers we are recognising represent years – and in many cases decades – of service to Yorkshire Ambulance Service. Their involvement has helped to shape our organisation and strengthen the care we provide, and we are incredibly grateful for their contribution.”

Throughout the week, we will also be sharing the stories of our volunteers across our social media channels and internal communications.

This year has seen substantial progress with our volunteering initiatives. It has been three years since we launched our first Volunteer Development Framework which sets out our commitment to supporting and enhancing volunteering – here is a summary of what we have achieved so far with more details here.

Community First Responder retires after two decades

After 22 years of dedicated service as a Community First Responder, Janet Flint has retired and will receive a well-deserved award in recognition of her commitment to helping others.

Janet joined the Appleton Roebuck scheme, near Selby, when it was established in 2003 because she cared deeply about her community and wanted to make a practical difference. Over the years, she has supported countless patients and families, often finding that even a few words of comfort can make a big difference in difficult moments.

Over the past two decades, she has seen the Community First Responder role develop significantly. What began with training focused mainly on airway management and defibrillator use has grown into a far broader role, requiring more equipment, greater knowledge and more structured training designed specifically for the role.

She also reflected on how attitudes towards Community First Responders have changed over the years. While ambulance staff were initially wary, she said the relationship has grown stronger and that today there is a real sense that everyone is working together as one team.

Janet said: “Over the past 20 years, I have had the privilege of getting to know so many ambulance staff. I’ve also seen a few trainers come and go, whether through secondments or promotions, but they have always been supportive, encouraging and I am proud to have known them all."

Steve Hudson, Community First Responder Team Leader, said: “Janet has given incredible service over the past 22 years. She has always been so friendly and helpful, and the kind of person who would do anything for anyone. She has been a fantastic ambassador for the Community First Responder role, helping to promote it so positively, and her support as the scheme coordinator and the wider team has been truly valued.”

Janet will receive a Long Service Retirement Award at the Trust's Long Service Awards in Harrogate on 2 June.

Craig has clocked up 20 years as a Community First Responder in Danby - he is one of just two members with a third joining soon.

Craig had always been interested in pre-hospital care, and volunteering as a Community First Responder gave him the opportunity to support his community in a flexible way alongside his main job.

He said: "Living in a remote area, I know that being able to provide early reassurance and care while an ambulance is on its way can make a real difference for patients and their families. That opportunity to help people at a difficult time is what inspired me to start and continues to motivate me. The one thing that hasn't changed over the years is the patient interactions. The ability to talk to a patient and their families is still key to assisting them in their time of need."

Retired forensic psychiatrist Emmet became a Patient Transport Service Volunteer in York during the COVID-19 pandemic when the NHS was facing unprecedented challenges.

He said: “I worked in the NHS for 34 years and my son and daughter both work in the NHS so I was very aware of the pressures brought by the pandemic, and I thought I should do something useful and decided to help as a volunteer driver.

“I enjoy meeting patients from diverse backgrounds and ensuring they get to their hospital appointments on time.”

Emmet qualified as a doctor in Ireland in 1973 and spent most of his career working in high security as a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist at Rampton Hospital including six years as Medical Director. He worked at Stockton Hall York as a Consultant Forensic until his retirement in 2012.

Over the past 10 years, Paul has been a dedicated Community First Responder, supporting patients during some of their most vulnerable moments.

He first became involved through his role with HM Coastguard, working as a Co-Responder as part of a team. He left HM Coastguard in 2023 to focus more fully on being a Community First Responder. He has seen many changes over the years with improved systems and equipment helping responders to deliver enhanced care and a better patient experience.

Paul said: "I have had many highlights, from helping patients when they need it the most, whether that is arriving first on scene to begin life-saving interventions, supporting crews to help achieve a positive outcome, or recognising when a patient is far more unwell than first expected. Even simply being there with a patient while they wait for a crew can make a real difference."

Phil has been a valued member of the Critical Friends Network since its inception and has helped to shape the group and strengthen the patient voice within the Trust.

Over the years, he has contributed to a wide range of projects aimed at improving patient safety and experience. One of the earliest changes he supported was better communication for Patient Transport Service users. More recently, he has been involved in discussions around booking codes and changes to patient transport eligibility.

Reflecting on his involvement, Phil said: “There is no 'I' in team. The Critical Friends Network and volunteering are all about working together with the Trust to make a real difference to patients.”

We have 87 Community Engagement Volunteers (both staff and YAS volunteers), who go out into their local communities to pass on key skills such as first aid, basic life support and talking about careers and volunteering opportunities in the ambulance sector. Last year they gave almost 700 hours and attended over 170 events across our region.

Their work focuses mainly on CPR and defibrillator training for children and young people in schools, colleges and nurseries, as well as at community events, faith groups, scouts, brownies and WI meetings. Volunteers also support Special Educational Needs and Disabilities visits with a community engagement ambulance, helping pupils feel more confident around medical emergencies. They also attend careers events and support wider community engagement projects across Yorkshire, promoting volunteering and inspiring future ambulance service careers.