Basingstoke ObserverVOLUNTEERS at Hampshire Search and Rescue (HANTSAR) have been awarded a prestigious Skills for Health Our Health Heroes Award for their efforts supporting Covid-19 testing and vaccination across the county.
The charity, one of the country’s county-based Lowland Rescue teams which provide round the clock cover to assist the police and other agencies to search for vulnerable missing persons, was praised highly for stepping into the breach to help the NHS at a time of great need alongside running full search and rescue services throughout the pandemic.
Presented with the prize at a glittering awards ceremony held at the Science Museum in London, HANTSAR Vice-Chair Trevor Vidler said: “I am delighted that the hard work and dedication of our team has achieved national recognition. At a time of great difficulty for us all, our wonderful army of volunteers stepped up to the plate to support vaccination efforts across the county. Not only that, they did so whilst juggling a busy schedule of call outs to search for vulnerable and at-risk missing people.”
HANTSAR beat stiff competition to scoop the ‘Most Inspired Healthcare Support by a UK charity’ prize, with an expert panel of judges voting unanimously in favour of HANTSAR due to the immense personal sacrifice of their passionate volunteers, who have provided critical support to the vaccination programme across Hampshire, working in partnership with Solent NHS Trust..
Between January 2021 and January 2022, over 70 HANTSAR volunteers filled hundreds of shifts as professional guides and vaccinators across the county at the main mass-vaccination centres including Basingstoke. More recently they have, with very little notice, supported the schools programme, adapting schedules to attend different schools across Hampshire each and every day.
