Stuart Harris

Said the following about Stewart Boyd:

“Hard to define were exactly to start with my colleague at the Station, but his keen eye on observing vulnerable persons knows absolutely no bounds.

Starting around five months ago our location was being attending by a local homeless woman, let’s call her Julie. Julie was exceptionally vulnerable and used to tell us she was mildly schizophrenic, she was lonely more than anything. Sometime in early June she was sat on the station in her usual worried state - depressed and teary. Stew spent some time talking to her not least to determine what was up with her on this day... it became clear that she had taken some pills (after careful interrogation from Mr Boyd) suddenly she collapsed, acting quickly Stew alerted the relevant persons, including the emergency services and placed Julie in the recovery position.

He had to liaise with the ambulance services to not only help Julie in her distressed state but almost certainly helped to save her from serious injury or maybe even worse. It took some time for the paramedics to arrive but Stew stayed calm and in control of the situation. Even when she was eventually taken away she was screaming for Stew to look after her, she returned to the station some days later to thank my colleague and to apologise for the events.

Not three weeks later he observed another vulnerable person, a young man outside the station on the wall over the track. Once again alerting the relevant people but also risking some personal injury he coaxed the youth over the road, back to the booking hall in a position of relative safety, by himself he gleaned the information on what was wrong with the man, contacted his brother to come and take him home and offered some practical advice on overcoming his problems.

These are only two examples of not only saving the public from general harm or even death BUT observing, helping, administering first aid and going well above perceived norms and basic training to ensure safety of persons on and around our railway.

This is not only being a safety star but being a humanist, an advocate of safety, a credit to our workforce and a genuine proactive and professional friend to our customers, the general public and his work colleagues.“

Mike McHugh

Said the following about Stewart Boyd:

“I am nominating Stewart, because on two separate occasions he has stepped forward in difficult situations and shone through, showing professionalism and empathy to bring closure and injury free endings to two person’s lives.

In the first incident in April a female was on the platform threatening to jump, Stewart was able use his training and experience to talk her away from the platform and to a place of safety till the emergency services arrived.

Then on June, whilst taking a break, he noticed a male on the road bridge in some distress. Again Stewart remained calm and talked to the male for over 1hr 30mins eventually guiding him into the B Hall were emergency services were waiting.

He showed himself to professional, genuine and empathetic. Both the persons involved have returned and thanked Stewart for his intervention. As his line manager, I am very proud to have him on my team.“

Sally Ralston

Said the following about Stewart Boyd:

“Stewart was awarded our own Customer Service Ambassador Award in 2016. Stewart is a great example to others in our business. He shows foresight and a very proactive mentality. He has been involved in some challenging events on his station when dealing with distressed passengers.

Stewart is also one of our engagement champions within Merseyrail. He also coaches a football team and is sponsored by merseyrail, playing in our company colours. His overall demeanour and attitude whilst at work is based on merseyrail’s values. He takes great personal pride in his station, how he delivers his customer service and his enthusiasm, demonstrating the principles taught in the m-spire training in his day-to-day role. Already an ambassador for merseyrail!

Stewart is a station retailer at Moreton station on Merseyrail in Merseyside. He began his railways career in 2003. His role covers all aspects of railway ticketing and retail duties. It also covers all aspects of customer enquiries and engagement.

Hard to define where exactly to start with our colleague at Moreton Station, but his keen eye on observing vulnerable persons knows absolutely no bounds. Starting around 5 months ago Moreton station was being attended by a local homeless woman, let’s call her Julie. Julie was exceptionally vulnerable and used to tell him she was mildly schizophrenic, she was lonely more than anything. Sometime in early June she was sat on the station in her usual worried state - depressed and teary. Stewart spent some time talking to her not least to determine what was up with her on this day... it became clear that she had taken some pills (after careful interrogation from Mr Boyd) suddenly she collapsed and was frothing around the mouth, acting quickly Stewart alerted the relevant persons, including the emergency services and placed Julie in the recovery position. He had to liaise with the ambulance services to not only help Julie in her distressed state but almost certainly helped to save her from serious injury or maybe even worse.

It took some time for the paramedics to arrive but Stewart stayed calm and in control of the situation. Even when she was eventually taken away she was screaming for Stewart to look after her, she returned to the station some days later to thank my colleague and to apologise for the events. Not three weeks later he observed another vulnerable person, a young man outside the station on the wall over the track. Once again alerting the relevant people but also risking some personal injury he coaxed the youth over the road, back to the booking hall in a position of relative safety, by himself he gleaned the information on what was wrong with the man, contacted his brother to come and take him home and offered some practical advice on overcoming his problems. These are only two examples of not only saving the public from general harm or even death BUT observing, helping, administering first aid and going well above perceived norms and basic training to ensure safety of persons on and around our railway. This is not only being a safety star but being a humanist, an advocate of safety, a credit to our workforce and a genuine proactive and professional friend to our customers, the general public and his work colleagues.

Stewart fully applies himself to his role and is highly engaged and motivated. He carries out the additional role of engagement champion, which he was selected for as he’s approachable, a great communicator, and demonstrates merseyrail’s values on a day-to-day basis within his role. He consistently goes the extra mile in all aspects of his role, including delivering lost property to an elderly customer’s home who was unable to return to the station. Stewart has also been involved in a number of highly stressful situations which have focused on being able to provide excellent customer service skills whilst under pressure, demonstrated excellently.

Stewart dealt with the distressing events surrounding the aforementioned suicide attempts in an exemplary manner, using all his training and life skills to ensure that the situation was diffused and that the female brought no harm to either herself or any other customers. This female still uses the network and acknowledges Stewart regularly. He has also previously performed cpr to assist a customer taken ill on the station.

Where there’s an opportunity to step in, Stewart will always jump in with both feet to help in any way.

During these two incidents this year where he has been called upon to assist customers in times of great stress, who were a danger to themselves and others, on both occasions he was able to use his experience and skills and m/rail training to save two lives. He remained Calm , Composed and aware and showed empathy and understanding,“