King’s New Year Honours: Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust’s head of security and parking awarded British Empire Medal
The man in charge of security and parking with the NHS trust for the Bishop’s Stortford area has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the King’s New Year Honours.
Kelvin Langford has been recognised for his volunteering outside of work to support veterans, in particular as a volunteer co-ordinator for the Civilian Services Contingent and for the Veteran Community of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, where he has lived for 20 years.
Kelvin has worked at PAHT as head of security and parking since January. He was previously senior project lead for the NHS England Violence Reduction and Prevention team.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he took a national lead role as the NHS security advisor. This involved working with various security and intelligence agencies for the security and protection of the vaccine rollout and the continued safety of staff working at vaccine hubs around England.
Prior to this, he worked in roles including head of security for East Midlands Ambulance Service, head of security at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and senior manager for HM Prison Service.
Kelvin said: “I’ve worked with various charities and initiatives during my career, and during this time I was involved with opening a homeless shelter in the Humberside area. In doing so, I met a lot of veterans that had fallen on hard times, which inspired me to work within my own community with local veterans.
“I’m overwhelmed that the people I’ve worked alongside felt I had made such a difference with being involved with ceremonial duties for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, the Coronation of King Charles III and nearly 20 years volunteering in the Civilian Services Contingent for the National Service of Remembrance and to the veterans of Newark as treasurer for the Royal British Legion.
“I received notification of the award in early December with clear instructions not to tell anyone. It’s been the longest month to keep such a secret to oneself, and I still think I’ll receive a call to say that an error has been made in giving me this award, for which I’m still pinching myself. It’s an award I’ve earned as being part of a team.”
Sharon McNally, chief nurse and deputy chief executive at PAHT, said: “Congratulations to Kelvin on this amazing accolade. Kelvin has made an extraordinary impact on the lives of the veterans his volunteering work has supported and it is fantastic to see him receive this recognition.”
The PAHT provides general acute services at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and outpatient and diagnostic services at Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford and St Margaret’s Hospital in Epping. It serves a population of about 350,000 people in West Essex and East Herts, centred on the M11 corridor from Stortford to Epping, and its extended catchment area incorporates a population of up to 500,000 and includes the Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Broxbourne areas.