THE North East Ambulance Service is celebrating after being recognised for its work on equality and diversity.

The trust has been selected as a finalist for three of its projects in this year’s Equality North East Awards.

The awards recognise the achievements of organisations, individuals and groups in embedding inclusivity through equality and diversity in day to day working practices.

NEAS submitted a number of projects for consideration in this year’s awards and three have been shortlisted as finalists in two categories.

Two of the projects, Dementia Friends and Mind Blue Light , have been shortlisted in the “Outstanding Contribution by a Larger Organisation” category in recognition of the trust’s commitment to the mental health of its staff and its efforts to raise awareness of dementia in the organisation.

The trust’s Proud@NEAS group, a staff group set up to give lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff a voice, has been shortlisted in the “Groups Who Have Made A Difference” category in recognition of the group’s support to ensure the trust’s services consider the needs of LGBT people.

Engagement manager at NEAS Mark Johns said: “Over the last couple of years,we have made significant progress in all three of these areas and therefore it’s fantastic to see these efforts recognised.”