The College of Paramedics would like to offer its warmest congratulations to three of our members – Jo Mildenhall, Ashley Hanson and Vinny Romano - who each received the prestigious Churchill Fellowship medallion at an awards ceremony in London last week.
A Churchill Fellowship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, open to all UK adult citizens, to lead the change they want to see. The charity funds applicants to spend between four to eight weeks meeting experts in their field anywhere in the world, in person and/or online, building international networks that promote reciprocal knowledge exchange. It then helps Fellows to make a difference in their community or professional sector in the UK, based on insights inspired by these exchanges.
A community of over 4,000 change-makers, Churchill Fellows work on the frontline of today’s crucial issues, developing new solutions based on global research and personal expertise. From every corner of all four nations, Churchill Fellows have achieved amazing things, from becoming community leaders and charity founders to embedding new services and campaigning for action in fields from climate change to education, technology to the arts.
Jeremy Soames, grandson of the late Sir Winston Churchill and Chair of the Churchill Fellowship, said: "We were delighted to celebrate the outstanding achievements of Churchill Fellows at our 2024 Award Ceremony. The occasion marked the successful completion of 122 Fellows' international research and reports, forming an impressively substantial body of work. More importantly, it illustrates the significant impact being made in communities and sectors through the ideas, dedication, and energy that are hallmarks of every Churchill Fellow - many congratulations to all recipients. There is no doubt that the Churchill Fellowship owes its success to the remarkable work of Churchill Fellows."
Here, Jo, Ashley and Vinny tell us how they became Churchill Fellows and what it means to them.
Jo Mildenhall, Paramedic Psychological Health & Wellbeing Manager for the College of Paramedics
Why you were given a Churchill Fellowship? My passion and advocation for ambulance staff and paramedic psychological wellbeing started 25 years ago when, after one particular incident - a rail crash – I became aware that there was little to no understanding of the psychological impact that working within the field of paramedicine can have, particularly after attending a critical incident such as this. Fast forward two decades, and we still face many challenges in terms of the psychological health of ambulance personnel. My strong passion for improving psychological welfare and support for ambulance staff has continued, however, and I applied for this Fellowship to learn from countries which are considered world-leading in this area. Considerable research has, and continues to be, undertaken within Australia and New Zealand to explore and understand our psychological being within the context of emergency occupations and I wanted to learn from their expertise and from the evidence-based strategies and policies that have been implemented and how this has translated into real-world practice, interventions and supports. Fortunately, after a tough application process, I was over the moon to be awarded a Churchill Fellowship to enable this research trip to occur.
The work you did to achieve it: I visited Australia and New Zealand for two months, travelling around both countries to meet with colleagues from ambulance services, responder mental health charities, universities, policing, and our colleagues at the Australasian College of Paramedicine to find out more about how ambulance staff and paramedics are supported with their psychological wellbeing in terms of informal supports, peer support, clinical psychology, and wellbeing policy. I was very fortunate to be able to spend time, not only with senior leaders and academics but also experts by experience - our colleagues working on the frontline. I even undertook a few third manning shifts in Auckland and Melbourne!
What does the Churchill Fellowship mean to you? Being awarded a Churchill Fellowship is a huge privilege; a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to explore and learn from leading experts about an area that you are so passionate about. Now that this part of my fellowship is complete, I feel proud to be able to call myself a Churchill Fellow and know that I am part of a community of inspiring change-makers.
Ashley Hanson, Senior Clinical Research Practitioner, Royal Devon University Hospitals NHS FT - Northen Services
Why were you given a Churchill Fellowship? At the time I applied for the Fellowship I was a lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University in Medway. As my students approached graduation, they all found that there was a 'gap' between their time as a student and their role as a practising paramedic and for many, this instilled a sense of panic and anxiety. For a lot of students, this sensation has only been heightened in recent times because of the pandemic. The purpose of my Fellowship was to investigate ways to 'close' this gap, to ensure that the future paramedics we bring into the workforce are set up to achieve and excel in their chosen careers, and that our curriculum is aligned to the needs of the changing pre-hospital workforce.
The work you did to achieve it: I travelled to Australia for eight weeks to investigate some of the work-readiness initiatives in place to support students transitioning to newly qualified paramedics and to see if some of these changes could be brought back to the UK to be implemented.
What does the Churchill Fellowship mean to you? It’s an opportunity to share something I am passionate about with like-minded individuals on the other side of the planet. The power of "chance encounters" and the doors that opened up as a result of being a Fellow were amazing.
Vinny Romano, Consultant Paramedic for Education at North West Ambulance Service and Director for TRiM Training and Consultancy
Why were you given a Churchill Fellowship? In 2016, I began to recognise the lack of mental health support available to frontline emergency workers in the ambulance service following attendance at a difficult incident. I had a number of close colleagues die due to suicide and others who had to leave the service due to the effect on their mental health. This prompted me to embark on a journey of research to seek out options available to provide mental health support.
The work you did to achieve it: Having seen the importance of supporting emergency workers, I was keen to ensure an awareness of the different strategies used. To make the most of my Fellowship I travelled to the USA, as the way their emergency ambulance service is organised means you can visit a number of different organisations in a small area. I split my trip into two legs – East and West Coast of America - in order to visit the maximum number of areas. I worked and met with a number of private and public ambulance providers, Fire Departments, and universities to discuss how responders are supported following their attendance at critical incidents. The Churchill Fellowship allowed me to meet and work with responders who wouldn't normally be accessible and have honest conversations about their mental health and wellbeing. I also witnessed different tools being used and have since shared these ideas with UK stakeholders within the ambulance world.
What does the Churchill Fellowship mean to you? I spent a great deal of time producing my report and it is very satisfying having now completed it. I will always have the report to look back fondly on as a record of my achievement. It was such an honour being invited to the awards ceremony in London and a real moment of personal pride receiving my medallion.
** Applications to become a Churchill Fellow are now open until November 12, 2024. To find out more please go to The application form (churchillfellowship.org) Churchill Fellowships are open to all adult UK citizens, regardless of qualifications, background or age.