Two siblings and three Scottish Ambulance Service staff awarded Brave@Heart Awards for extraordinary acts of bravery

The awards celebrate acts of bravery in exceptional circumstances by blue-light services, voluntary rescue organisations and members of the public.

Youngsters Oliver Liddle and Arianna Liddle, along with SAS staff Ian Skinner, Colene Buchan and Jill Summers, all collected certificates on Tuesday (October 7) at a ceremony at Bute House, attended by the First Minister.

Oliver, 12, and Arianna, 11, of Aberdeen, provided immediate care to their mum after she had a cardiac arrest last year.

Arianna called 999 after finding Donna, who suffered a cardiac arrest, unresponsive on the floor while Oliver put her into the recovery position. After speaking to the call handler, several ambulance staff were dispatched with help arriving within six minutes.

Their award nomination said: “Without the prompt and brave action of Oliver and Arianna, Donna may not have been alive today.  It was a stressful time, but Donna has made an amazing recovery.”

Iain Skinner, Advanced Paramedic based at Killin Ambulance Station, attended to a challenging incident involving a patient last year.

He was nominated by a fellow member of staff who said: “Through his quick thinking, physical intervention and bravery, Iain ensured the safety of all present and successfully managed the situation.”

Paramedics Jill Summers and Colene Buchan, both based at Fraserburgh, attended to a challenging situation involving a multi-agency response where they bravely descended an extremely high and unstable cliff to attend to a patient.

Their award nomination said: “They are a credit to the Scottish Ambulance Service and most importantly were brave, skilled and effective under extreme pressure.”

SAS Chief Executive Michael Dickson said: “The actions of all the Brave@Heart recipients are truly commendable, and they have each showed extraordinary bravery. They are all wonderful ambassadors for the Scottish Ambulance Service. I’d like also to commend the actions of Oliver and Arianna. Their quick-thinking saved their mum’s life.”