From Tyson Fury to Denise Van Outen, meet the celebrities honouring health heroes at our Who Cares Wins awards

THESE are the world-beating celebrities who will be hailing our amazing health heroes at this year’s Who Cares Wins awards.

World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury leads the stars who will join our nominees at the glittering London ceremony.

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Our awards – sponsored by the National Lottery and hosted by Davina McCall – honour workers, volunteers and unsung heroes from across the health sector.

And leading lights from showbiz, TV and sport will join us and our charity partners NHS Charities Together to pay tribute to their dedication and bravery.

Gordon Ramsay, Denise Van Outen, Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan will all be walking our red carpet.

We’re also honoured to host triumphant Lioness Jess Carter, England star Declan Rice and many more. But the real stars of the show are our incredible nominees. Today we profile three of them.

• The Sun’s Who Cares Wins awards will be on Channel 4 and All 4 on Sunday, September 18, at 6.30pm.

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BEST MIDWIFE NOMINEE: Laura Mackie

SOON after her 20-week scan, mum-to-be Lily Rolfe was devastated to learn that her baby would not survive and she had to terminate her pregnancy.

She and husband Chris, 34, a farm manager, could not have got through the trauma without bereavement midwife Laura Mackie’s support.

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Lily, 27, from Whitchurch, Hants, said: “It was the most horrific, tragic experience of our lives.

“I had to give birth to our stillborn baby and leave hospital without him in my arms, but somehow Laura made us feel safe.”

Mum-of-four Laura, 42, from Thatcham, Berks, set up The Butterfly Suite at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, a unit for parents whose babies are stillborn or die soon after birth.

She also started support forum Flutterbies, for parents who suffer baby loss.

Through this, parents are offered free counselling, which helped Lily and Chris.

Laura said: “It’s such a rewarding and privileged job to have.”

999 HERO NOMINEE: London Ambulance Service

WITHIN weeks of the Ukraine conflict starting, London Ambulance Service rallied 26 staff and ten decommissioned ambulances to take medical supplies to the war zone.

The vehicles were packed with equipment such as bandages, syringes and ventilators donated by hospital trusts.

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The group – all volunteers, including paramedics, engineers and other non-clinical staff – took three days to drive 1,200 miles to Przemysl in Poland, where they passed the supplies to local paramedics, who then drove them over the nearby border to Lviv in Ukraine.

Rafal Kijanka, of the Przemysl ambulance service, said: “It was very emotional, people from three countries – the UK, Poland and Ukraine – building a team to help each other.

“We have seen the worst of mankind, but also the best.”

Six UK team members remained in Poland to help out at a refugee centre.

BEST NURSE NOMINEE: Dorcas Gwata

DORCAS started her career aged 21 as a hospital cleaner, before becoming a healthcare assistant and then a mental health nurse.

She oversaw a public health project working with young people who were involved in gangs, knife crime and exploitation, inspired by volunteering in her native Zimbabwe.

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Dorcas, 51, said: “I’d engage with people wherever they were – in McDonald’s, on street corners or in prison.

“One girl came from three generations who had never worked. There was a very strong history of criminality and drug use.

“After she took an overdose, I helped her. It took a lot of work but she now works in the City.

“We broke the cycle. It makes me really proud.”

Dorcas, a psychiatric liaison nurse at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, West London, was nominated by consultant perinatal psychiatrist Dr Maddalena Miele.

Dr Miele said: “The model Dorcas developed will inform policy and change how mental health professionals work.”