North West Ambulance Service chief receives Honorary Doctorate from University

The Chief Executive of the North West Ambulance Service said he was “absolutely delighted” as he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bolton.

Daren Mochrie was made a Doctor of Health Care for his outstanding contribution to Ambulance Service and the Health Sector particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Mochrie, who Is also the Chair of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), said: “This is a very proud moment. I am also immensely proud of every member of staff and all the volunteers who have gone above and beyond in the past 16 months, which has been such a challenging time.

“I would say to students that you can do anything you set your mind to with hard work, passion and belief.”

He received the award in a unique Covid-secure ceremony which was being filmed for a special movie documenting this year’s innovative ‘Alternative Graduation’.

The University is one of the only ones in the UK to have invited graduands from this year and last to be presented with their degrees in person and in their gowns, giving them the chance to have official photographs of their special day.

Mr Mochrie is a registered paramedic, holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Napier University, Edinburgh and a Diploma in Immediate Medical Care, Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh and has more than 33 years’ experience in the NHS, 30 years of that in the ambulance sector.

Over the years he has led and managed major transformational change in the ambulance sector in both urban and rural settings.

He was instrumental in establishing and rolling out a national land and air Specialist Transport & Retrieval service across Scotland and led and managed large scale public events and incidents at operational, tactical, and strategic command levels.

More recently, Mr Mochrie led an Ambulance Trust out of quality Special measures and Care Quality Commission ‘Inadequate’ and for the past 12 months has supported the Ambulance Sector’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was awarded the Queens Ambulance Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2013, for distinguished service.