Eastbourne man receives end of year honour

Chief Petty Officer Naval Nurse Andrew Cooper, 36, is one of nearly two dozen personnel honoured for their unwavering duty home and abroad.

His efforts testing hundreds of sailors on aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and his front-line work in an NHS hospital emergency department have seen him become an Associate of the Royal Red Cross.

Mr Cooper, who joined the Royal Navy in 2004, said, “I couldn’t believe it at first. It will be exciting when I can let people know – having to hold off since finding out has been tough. I cannot wait to tell them.”

He has played a pivotal role in the fight against Covid, first during his time on HMS Queen Elizabeth in April when he came up with a system to test all 800 sailors on board – a task he repeated in September.

Mr Cooper also showed his expertise and leadership in the emergency department of Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth by leading his NHS and military colleagues in the midst of the pandemic.

Using his military background, he helped set up additional resuscitation rooms at short notice and helped give extra training to junior staff in medical care often required for coronavirus patients.

He also helped colleagues on working in full personal protective equipment and led the re-design of the hospital’s emergency department.

Mr Cooper said, “It is quite unique that I was able to use my skills both on a carrier like Queen Elizabeth and on the front line of the NHS. But I couldn’t have done it by myself. None of it would have happened if it wasn’t for the whole team.”

We will be reporting on other honours as the information is released.