Anglesey 999 advisor and 'caring' nurse from Bangor among those recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours 2021

Mary Davies, 74-years-old, of Anglesey, has appointed MBE for services to the Emergency Services.

She has dedicated her whole working career to serving as a 999 advisor in BT
Voice Services and is their longest serving advisor.

Stephen MacVicar, also from Anglesey, has been awarded a BEM.

The chair, Seiriol Alliance, and founding member, Seiriol Good Turn Scheme For voluntary, has been recignised for his services to People with Dementia and the community in Wales

In 2019 he chaired the Seiriol Alliance that worked in partnership with
Anglesey County Council to improve health, wellbeing and prosperity in the local community with its main focus on isolation and loneliness and the care of
those with dementia.

Mary has seen incredible technological transformation of the service but the one thing that hasn’t changed is why the 999 service exists and that is to get critical help to those in need and to save lives.

She works as a night shift advisor, working 4 * 10hr shifts per week and is still
as alert and willing to learn new things as she was when she joined in 1967.

In 2012, when Anglesey County Council decided to close Beaumaris Canolfan
Leisure Centre, Stephen, with others, set up a Social Enterprise Scheme and serves
as Vice-Chair, a Director and its effective CEO.

The building employs a number of full and part-time staff, has a significant
concert theatre, a gym and facilities for all manner of cultural and sporting
activities for all ages.

He is also the current chair of Llanfaes Trust which is a registered charity
providing funds for educational, training and sporting needs in a deprived area
of Anglesey.

Roger Thomas, Andy Fowell and Stephen MacVicar in 2019. PICTURE: Facebook.

In 2019, he cycled from Istanbul to Anglesey, a distance of over 5,000 kms, in
order to raise £20,262 for St David’s Hospice Llandudno and Motor Neurone
Disease Association.

He was a committee member for Gwynedd Haematology and Cancer Relief
Fund (reg charity) and in 2012 led a successful campaign on behalf of GPs to
resist proposals to reduce Local Authority Care Home beds in Anglesey until
adequate funding for independent living was provided.

In March 2020 he was instrumental in setting up the ‘Seiriol Good Turn
Scheme’ within the town of Beaumaris and surrounding villages.

Within days he and the team had distributed leaflets to over 2,000 homes in
the ward, recruited 120 volunteers and organised a team of 6 who now
provide a point of contact hotline for persons in need.

Elderly or vulnerable people who were shielding were provided with deliveries
of medicine, groceries and hot meals supplied by local businesses as well as
other activities such as dog walking.

In April 2020 he teamed up with a local GP practice in Anglesey in order to
produce a bilingual series of videos providing information on various
coronavirus topics.

Two Welsh Ambulance Service colleagues have also been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Andy Swinburn, the Trust’s Associate Director of Paramedicine, and Sue Owen-Williams, a nurse dvisor for NHS 111 Wales, have been awarded the prestigious Queen’s Ambulance Service Medal.

Meanwhile, former chief executive Tracy Myhill has also been appointed OBE for her services to NHS Wales.

Sue joined NHS Direct Wales – now the NHS 111 Wales service – in 2005 as a nurse advisor after working as a staff nurse on a genito-urinary unit, having qualified in 1994.

Sue Owen-Williams

Sue, who is based in Bangor, has raised thousands of pounds for cancer charities through a series of gruelling walks, including Cancer Research UK’s Shine Night Walk and nine of Walk the Walk charity’s MoonWalks.

Director of Operations Lee Brooks QAM said: “Sue’s commitment and dedication to her fundraising efforts are testament to her tenacity.

“At work, Sue delivers excellent clinical advice for her patients at all times.  

“She works calmly and effectively, and provides kind and compassionate support to our patients and the team around her when they are dealing with complex clinical issues. 

“It is an exceptional professional that can pull together a team which is under pressure and recognise when her colleagues require support.  

“She is a remarkable, caring nurse and invaluable to our organisation.”

Andy joined Lancashire Ambulance Service in 1991 as an Ambulance Person and progressed to Ambulance Technician, Paramedic, Leading Ambulance Paramedic and Operational Trainer. 

He was appointed Education and Training Manager in 2002, and in 2006, became the Professional Development Manager at North West Ambulance Service, where he led the development of a clinical leadership structure.

It was during this time the Lancashire-native also obtained his MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice from Bolton University.

In 2013, Andy moved to East Midlands Ambulance Service to take up the role of Consultant Paramedic before securing his current position at the Welsh Ambulance Service in 2017.

He already has a string of awards to his name, including Health Service Journal’s Best Innovation Award, as well as the Allied Health Professional of the Year Award and Allied Health Professional Clinical Leadership Award in the Advancing Healthcare Awards. 

Dr Brendan Lloyd, medical director, said: “Andy’s ground-breaking work around Advanced Paramedic Practitioners and leadership of the profession, both locally and through the College of Paramedics, means the Welsh Ambulance Service is recognised as one of the most progressive in terms of advanced paramedic practice. 

“In 2018, Andy also implemented a 24/7 Senior Clinical Support service for staff so that no decision is made in isolation, which continues successfully today across Wales.”

Tracy, the Trust’s chief executive from 2014-18, said of her honour: "I’ve been so privileged to have had such an extraordinary and rewarding career – from receptionist to chief executive – working with so many exceptional and inspirational people.

“I have been, and remain, passionate about improving the health of the population and health services for the people of Wales and whilst now retired from the NHS, I remain dedicated to supporting people and organisations to be the best they can be.

“And to every receptionist out there, I say you too can achieve anything you dare to dream of.”

Expressing his heartfelt thanks for their “inspiring achievements”, Simon Hart, secretary of State for Wales, congratulated all those being recognised with an award.

Mr Hart said: "In what has truly been an astonishingly challenging year, it is vital that we take the time to recognise and praise the inspiring achievements of remarkable people across society.

“These awards celebrate the individuals who selflessly give back to those around them, both through their work and personal lives, and whose work can sometimes be overlooked.

“It is heart-warming to see the hugely diverse range of recipients from communities and backgrounds across Wales, recognised for their commitment to charity, education, health, sport the arts and – during a global pandemic – extraordinary work in the fight against Covid-19.

“We are all extremely grateful for the efforts of each person honoured and I’d like to personally congratulate everyone receiving an award.”

Michael Taggart, of Rhyl, was also appointed MBE. The 39-year-old, a Strategic Domestic Abuse Officer, North Wales Police, was recognised for his services to Victims of Domestic Abuse.

He has supported victims of domestic abuse throughout his career.

In 2014, he specialised to become a tactical Domestic Abuse Officer, covering
the county of Denbighshire. He worked directly with victims offering them safeguarding advice and support, encouraging them to make the brave step to complete statements
against the perpetrators.

Moving to his current role in 2018, a role his predecessors had fulfilled with policy writing, procedural change and quality assurance. He tore up the job description and took every opportunity it afforded to deliver his message to the most vulnerable victims through innovative and widely varied means.

Through his passion and commitment, he built up a network of contacts across the third sector whom he now works alongside, to maximum potential for victims.

He secured funding to create a domestic abuse roadshow and toured it throughout North Wales. ‘Would You Make the Cut’’ focused on the hair and beauty industry, using the sanctuary of hair and beauty salons to reach out to and provide support to victims of domestic abuse.

He spoke of his own story: his mother was murdered by his stepfather in 1997 when he was just 15. His story helped him connect with the audience, improving their understanding of the issues and encouraging them to be the eyes and ears of domestic abuse support services and a mouthpiece for victims.

Such is the impact of the roadshows, it has led to disclosures of abuse, controlling and coercive behaviour, sexual assault and rape to the team.

One attendee asked him to talk at his Tattoo Tea Party convention as he felt that tattooists’ could benefit from his advice on spotting potential victims of domestic abuse; the event was well attended and he received positive feedback. The White Ribbon campaign is a charity designed to end male violence against women.

He displayed the White Ribbon on all North Wales Police vehicles and 1700 taxis across North Wales as part of a wider publicity campaign to highlight the plight of victims of domestic abuse.

Since the implementation of new stalking legislation in 2020 he has been
instrumental in ensuring the safety of individual women in specific cases while
frontline officers become accustomed to the new tactics.

His impact on highlighting the hidden victims of these crimes has been outstanding and has become even more important in light of Covid restrictions.

He organised a campaign to reach out to potential victims, involving partnership working with commercial businesses such as Tesco (home delivery service); Food banks and Pharmacies across North Wales.