Back in April 2007, I saw a national advert on the NHS careers web site, inviting Paramedics to apply for several positions as aircrew, on the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Prior to the advert going live, I had shown an interest in following a career goal as an air ambulance paramedic team leader.
I was currently serving as a clinical paramedic supervisor at Bracknell ambulance station, in Berkshire division of South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust. I had the responsibility for a team of fourteen front line staff, which was comprised of paramedics and ambulance technicians serving the diverse communities of the local population.
After being short listed, I was invited to attend the formal two day selection process, which incorporated running, swimming, and medical exams, group work and problem solving, concluding with a power point presentation and interview. It was a long hard process with elimination at any at point if one failed to achieve the standards set out. The pressure was on, with many applicants from across the country chasing six positions in a highly competitive atmosphere. After the gruelling process, I then had to wait for a phone call after the weekend to state my future! It was a long weekend with constant thought going through my mind, “had I passed the selection”
I received a phone call on the Monday morning, shortly after conducting a 999 call, and I was informed that I had made the grade and criteria for the air ambulance team leader position, and I was to look forward to the next phase, which was the aircraft training, to be conducted at Thruxton. The training we received included; navigation, metrological, helicopter awareness, flight safety drills, emergencies in flight, fire fighting, aircrew management, being just a few of the subjects approached during the intense two week course.
A Typical day at the airbase comprises a long journey from Fareham to Thruxton airfield for me. The duty crews arrive just before 08.00hrs and get changed into their flying gear. The pilot carries out a check of the aircraft prior to flight, whist the rest of the crew checks the medical equipment, then we take the aircraft out of the hanger, placing her onto a dedicated pad outside the hanger, ready for operational use.
The duty crew will then conduct a formal aviation brief, analysing the weather conditions for the day along with local air movements for that period. We also talk through different aircraft situations, in the unlikely event of one taking place. After each member of the aircrew is happy, we then carry on with the day..........
As soon as the “Bat phone” rings, which is the term given to the emergency activation phone at the airbase; we immediately stop what we are doing and plan the pending mission. The paramedic/navigator for that particular mission takes down the details from ambulance headquarters, which are based in Otterbourne, just outside Winchester,
He then starts to plot a six figure grid reference onto the air navigation map. At this point the pilot goes out to the aircraft with the second member of the crew to initiate engine start up drills, by this time the navigator is plotting the bearing/direction on the map and working out the distance and time to the incident site. Once this is done the navigator hurries to the helicopter, sits in the front next to the pilot and shares the information. The Global positioning system is programmed, pre flight checks conducted, then once all the aircrew are happy, its take off!
All this is done within four minutes of receiving an emergency call at the airbase! The Air Ambulance can be called out as many as six times a day to a variety of incidents, and on one day we carried out 10 missions! We never know until we get there whether we will need to convey the patient to hospital for treatment or whether we will be able to treat them on scene. Sometimes they are conveyed to hospital by land ambulance and sometimes we are stood down before we arrive as the injuries are found to be not serious enough to need the Air Ambulance. No two days are the same and our job is hugely rewarding.
Fraser Rowbotham
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