THE Mayor of Basildon Cllr David Dadds has officially awarded Freedom of Entry to the Borough to local healthcare services that serve the borough at a special evening in their honour.

Freedom of the Borough is the highest honour awarded in exceptional circumstances, where the recipient is an individual or organisation of distinction that has provided outstanding services which have brought significant pride and satisfaction to the borough.

This year, the four NHS organisations and the East of England Ambulance Service that serve the borough have been granted Freedom of Entry to the Borough.

A special presentation event was held at The Magic Mushroom restaurant in Billericay to recognise each of the organisations and their service to the borough during the Covid-19 pandemic during which they were responsible for saving countless lives because of their dedication and care.

The Mayor of Basildon was joined by Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Essex, senior officers of Basildon Council and representatives from the five recipient organisations. The event was funded by Basildon Council's legal services partner Birketts LLP.

The five organisations are as follows:

Basildon & Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group

North East London NHS Foundation Trust

East of England Ambulance Service

Cllr Dadds, who presented each organisation with their civic honour, said: "Whilst we were staying at home to help the fight against Covid-19, our NHS and Ambulance Service were still out on the frontline working tirelessly every day to save lives. On behalf of the council and the borough, I was honoured to give our sincere thanks and gratitude to them.

"The organisations each represent a significant number of individuals who work for them as well as providers that they commission services from who have all made significant contributions as well as personal sacrifices during the Covid-19 pandemic to care for and support residents of the borough and I wish that we could have thanked them all individually.

"I'm delighted that we've been able to honour their dedication, strength and professionalism in this way. I am also grateful to our friends at Birketts for funding the wonderful evening to celebrate our healthcare heroes."