Shropshire Star

#BlueLightHappy: Big thanks to Midlands ambulance workers

A heart-warming hashtag has showcased respect for ambulance services after a backlash following a rude note that was left on an emergency vehicle.

Published
Paramedic Rob Moore set up the campaign

#BlueLightHappy has been used in Tweets from people from around Staffordshire and the Black Country to thank paramedics for the work they do.

Robert Moore, a paramedic from the West Midlands Ambulance Service and the brains behind the hashtag, said he wanted to increase the morale of emergency services by encouraging people to share their thanks.

He said: "I feel like there has been an increased number of reports of negative behaviour towards my colleagues. First there was the note, then another report of a colleague getting head-butted and then a windscreen of a police car was crashed during a remembrance service.

"It felt like a bleak time for us. In the last month I have been spat at and punched in the chest and these are things that shouldn't happen frankly.

It follows an incident last week when Hassan Shabbir, 27, left a note on the windscreen of an ambulance telling them not to block his drive while paramedics were attending a man who was throwing up blood.

Mr Moore said: "When a member of the public takes the time to say thank you to a member of staff, those are really good moments of appreciation that can boost morale in a challenging job which has dreadful moments where you're often in life or death situations.

"We are human beings and we have our own feelings, thoughts and emotions.

"I just created the hashtag to give the public a platform to express their thanks and to give somewhere for my colleagues to find it all at the end of the day when they feel down.

"I feel really proud of the hashtag itself but also of my colleagues. It is really special to be part of the 999 family."

People across the Midlands took the opportunity to thank paramedics: