A London Ambulance Service paramedic has been awarded a Queen’s Ambulance Medal for 22 years of service to Londoners in need.

Jason Morris attended Windsor Castle to collect his medal from HRH Princess Anne on Tuesday (February 22).

The Queen’s Ambulance Medal is a rare achievement and awarded to those who have shown “outstanding ability, merit and conduct” in their role.

Since 2009, Jason has worked with London’s Air Ambulance and is currently one of its longest serving flight paramedics.

During the pandemic, Jason lived out of a hotel, away from his family and devoted hours protecting London Ambulance Service staff, volunteers, and patients from the virus, by ensuring medics had the necessary PPE.

He takes a leading role in training and developing the team of Helicopter Emergency Medical Service doctors and paramedics.

On receiving his Queen’s Ambulance Medal, Jason said: “It’s such an honour to be recognised in this way, and it really has been the highlight of my career.

“To be nominated by my colleagues makes receiving this award even more special.

“From my point of view, I’m just part of the team and it wouldn’t be possible for me to do my job every day without the support of everyone else around me.

“This is my dream job.

“I love what I do, and I wouldn’t ever want to do anything else.”

A spokesperson from the London Ambulance Service trust said Jason has always wanted to help others since he was a child.

They added: “Growing up in New Zealand, Jason took part in rescue training for the civil defence, and at aged 19 he moved to England to become a St John Ambulance volunteer.

“This was where he met a member of the London Ambulance Service who encouraged him to pursue a career as a paramedic.”

More than two decades later, Jason is still helping others and has dedicated his career in doing so.

Chief Executive of London Ambulance Service, Daniel Elkeles, said: “It is wonderful Jason has been recognised in this way.

“Jason has dedicated his career to improving patient care, and empowering and supporting our staff and volunteers.

“Jason’s achievements just go to show what can be possible when you work for the ambulance service and is testament to just how talented and caring our staff and volunteers are.”

Jason has championed many initiatives in the ambulance service, including the development of a ‘Red Bag’ scheme for care home residents in Sutton in south west London.

Jason has also helped improve London Ambulance Service’s 999 and 111 control rooms by harnessing new technology.

This includes introducing GoodSAM Instant-on-Scene, this technology allows clinicians the ability to remotely access a caller’s smartphone camera to quickly understand the patient’s injuries and needs.

Since being introduced in 2019, it has been used over 80,000 times and helped save lives.