SIRENS 1

59ISSUE

FIFTY-NINE

COMMUNITY WINTER CAMPAIGN

P5 REVISED

BILLING MYTHS

ON STATION WITH ST IVES

JULY 2015

2 NSW AMBULANCE

Media update:

in the media

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SOCIAL MEDIA Popular Posts

National Volunteer WeekWe celebrated our volunteer ambulance officers and community first responders during National Volunteer Week. Thank you all for your dedication to the service.

Xtreme Volunteer Training in ParkesAt the end of May, more than 40 volunteers from across the state participated in a training weekend at Parkes. After a work conference, the volunteer ambulance officers and community first responders took part in several training exercises. The exercises included a simulated motor vehicle collision, a workplace accident and incidents involving mass casualties. A big thank you to everyone involved in what was a great weekend.

#StayAlert Campaign NSW Ambulance joined with the NSW Police Force and other emergency services during the Queen’s Birthday long weekend for the #StayAlert Campaign.

Snow Season BeginsOur paramedics stationed at Perisher Valley kicked off the official start of the 2015 snow season during the June long weekend. Inspector Phil Brotherton also celebrated the beginning of his final snow season after 42 years with NSW Ambulance.

Popular videosParamedic abuseThis video was part of a campaign by SA Health entitled: Keep your hands off our Ambos! and showed shocking footage of paramedic abuse. This video has been seen by nearly 170,000 people via our Facebook page and has been one of the most popular pieces of content we have posted.

CPR Training 664 likes 50 comments 130 shares

Xtreme Training at Parkes97, 936 total reach 335 likes 12 comments 58 shares

Have you seen our new banner? To make use of the Our Values poster, we’ve used this photo as the cover picture on our Facebook profile. We think it looks pretty good!

Be sure you follow NSW Ambulance on:

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in my viewRace Course Paramedic Mark Furner looks on as

horse trainer Gai Waterhouse speaks with her riders one chilly morning at Randwick Racecourse.

Photo: Jemma Somervail, Marketing & Media.

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Between them, paramedic sisters Donna and Jenny have clocked up nearly 30 years’ at NSW Ambulance. They’ve worked at various stations across the state, and naturally, they rely on each other for support during those hard days on the job and enjoy each other’s company to celebrate the good times.

Donna

It’s a real family affair; my husband, sister and cousin are all paramedics. This was actually not my first choice of profession – I originally wanted to become a police officer. When I missed out by the smallest of margins on selection I was encouraged by my uncle, a now retired paramedic, to apply and I haven’t looked back. I’ve worked at NSW Ambulance for 20 years. The thing I like most about my role is helping people and hopefully being able to make a difference through reassurance, alleviating pain and dealing with challenging situations.

Naturally, there are aspects of the job I find challenging. These are the jobs involving children. Having my own children has made me acutely aware of the fear most parents have when dealing with a sick or injured child. It can be reassuring to parents to know that I have children and may have gone through a similar situation; it helps me calm and reassure them. Mind you, I’m not that great with my own kids. One day we called an ambulance for my infant daughter and I think my colleagues were shocked to see I was the hysterical mother at the door!

your story

Paramedic, Camden Station

in the family

I love relaxing with the family around a campfire. I also love travelling and we have been taking the kids to various parts of Australia. Northern Territory is next on the agenda. I have 17-year-old and 12-year-old daughters and a 10-year-old son and they certainly keep me on my toes. I have also owned horses almost all of my life and find it relaxing to spend time riding, letting your mind run free. I have also represented NSW Ambulance in the ambulance games in equestrian, gaining three bronze medals.

You need to spend time unwinding from the overall fast pace of life. My horse riding and time with my family is extremely important. Taking time out for yourself, learning to relax and having patience has assisted me greatly in everyday life and in my role as a paramedic. Remaining calm in the face of adversity can be reassuring to others. Even though you may feel overwhelmed at times, having that calm poker face can make all the difference.

Having my younger sister also work for NSW Ambulance has strengthened our bond. We’ve always shared common interests, goals and have similar personalities. I worked with her once and we had a great time despite challenges of life on the frontline. I’m glad she’s in a different region though, because I would be too protective of if she’s okay. I really enjoy Jen being in the job as it’s a great debriefing tool; she understands and we try to laugh together to get us through the hard times.

I have learnt many valuable lessons during my time with NSW Ambulance. Something I know for sure right now is if you have love, a roof over your head and food in your stomach you are rich beyond belief.

JennyParamedic, Taree Station

I wanted to join NSW Ambulance from the age of 15. I’ve worked in a travel agency, retail and insurance, but listening to Donna’s stories I knew I wanted to be a part of the service. Changing careers later on in life was a big change for me. I found it difficult to start studying again. I have always loved helping people though and now that I’m working as a paramedic I know my decision was the right one. I’ve been working for NSW Ambulance for over eight years.

patients present very differently. You have to be calm and reassure them, as well as transport them in a safe environment for both them and also yourself.

A highlight so far of my career has been the introduction of the Pre-hospital Thrombolysis to our region. It’s great to see the changes in a patient who is a confirmed STEMI and interesting to see their ECG before and after they’ve been thrombolised. To know how much you can change a person’s life in a short period of time is very rewarding.

I find dealing with mental health patients very challenging. You have to be mindful of how you approach them as well as what you say. There has been an increase in mental health issues and

When not at work I love horse riding. Both my sister and I have had horses from a young age and competed in pony club together. We have some beautiful beaches in our area and state forests full of trails to explore. Because we do shift work, it helps having other paramedic friends with horses as it means there’s always someone to ride with. One day I’d like to represent NSW Ambulance in the annual Police Games for emergency service workers. The other sport I love is netball. I have been playing since I was a teenager at least once a week; I’m just not as fast as I used to be!

I am fortunate to a have a very close knit family. I have a wonderful husband who is very supportive and three beautiful kids - two have grown up and moved away but we still have our youngest at home finishing school. We have regular family holidays with Donna and her family and Mum and Dad - we usually go to a friend’s property where we ride quad bikes, go bushwalking. Next year is the snow!

Donna and I are very similar, so it’s not surprising to find us both in the same career. We worked together at Campbelltown Station for a short period and we regularly talk to each other. Donna has always been a stronger person than me so I rely on her a lot. We share the good times and support each other through the tough ones on the job. It’s really helpful to have someone who knows what you’re feeling. Being a paramedic has shown me that it’s important to make the most of life – there’s always someone out there who is worse off than you.

St ives

on station with

The tourist brochure says:The NSW Ambulance catchment of St Ives is situated in the geographical centre of Sydney’s northern metropolitan area. St Ives is nestled amongst multiple main roads, national parks, as well as industry and urban areas. St Ives is essentially an affluent leafy suburb.

The staff at your station say:As the largest station in Sydney’s north, we have a large number of staff with a range of skills and experience. This ranges from NEPT, trainees, ECP, ICP, SOT and SCAT. The staff at St Ives is like a big family.

Most common jobs around your area? Due to the location we see a wide variety of incidents. A single shift has the potential to expose us to high speed motor vehicle collisions, injured bushwalkers, nursing home incidents, vertical access jobs, industrial accidents, bicycle accidents and medical work. Every day is different.

How many staff at your station?St Ives operates with about 70 staff. In a single 24 hour shift we will often deploy five primary care, two intensive care, two SOT responders and five NEPT cars.

What geographical challenges do you face?Due to such a wide variety of environments that we operate in, extrication of patients is often a challenge. We regularly work with Fire & Rescue NSW and NSW Rural Fire Service to access and extricate our patients in difficult locations. St Ives is located between major hospitals, so this normally means extended transport times to hospital compared to our north shore or inner city Sydney colleagues.

What do you enjoy most about working in your area?Our team loves the variety of jobs we attend. You really never know what

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you’re going to be faced with on a day-to-day basis. We also have a great camaraderie here, we all look after each other.

What are some of the station’s most memorable jobs? We went to a job where an 18-year-old who had a steel rod piercing his forehead. As you can imagine it was pretty horrific. Another large incident occurred at about 3 am when a car left the road in Bobbin Head National Park. The vehicle was suspended halfway down a cliff and there were five critically ill patients involved. Nearly every station in the north supplied paramedics to assist.

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I wish to compliment you on employing Anna Hoffner, Extended Care Paramedic. She was caring, gentle, professional and highly skilled at her craft. Instead of just whizzing my mother off to the nearest hospital to wait for hours for care and putting strain on the system, Anna stabilised my mother and helped us decide on the appropriate course of action. Please pass on our sincere gratitude to Anna, and although she says she loves her job, which we could see, some praise won't hurt as well. We are very grateful to NSW Ambulance for supplying the extended care paramedical service. It was ideal in this case.

Thank you for the wonderful work you all do, the hours, the situations

and the professionalism.

I realise that everyone should do their job professionally and to the best of their

ability, however in my day-to-day dealings

with people, one often finds people who are

not happy in their job, and therefore, become surly and

unengaging. This was certainly not the case

when I needed help the most, at a time that was one of the

scariest in my life.

Letters of Appreciation

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They saved my life! For that I am truly grateful. Your paramedics were efficient, professional, good humoured, calm, and importantly, most effective. My wife was transported in a second ambulance, called at the time as backup and was given significant assistance at this critical time. My words of thanks are inadequate, but nonetheless heartfelt.

I wish to personally thank Jason Watson and Dan

O'Shannessy who rescued my daughter on 21 April in

rising floodwaters. I have only just been advised of the

occurrence yesterday as I am currently overseas with

my husband until next week. Words cannot express

my deep gratitude to you both. I am still in complete

shock having seen the video footage and been alerted

to the situation that she was involved in on that day.

Clearly, apart from the mixed emotions I am having today with this fresh news (mostly anger at my daughter at her

stupidity roaming around the floodwaters, ignoring

my countless emails and facebook messages pleading with her to stay

put) and of course, intense relief knowing that she

was spared on that day both by the grace of God

and largely due to your courage, bravery, expertise,

dedication and commitment. I will never forget your bravery and courage.

I’d like to express my sincere thanks to the call taker who assisted us in resuscitating a member of our church who experienced a severe heart

attack. The calm, clear and direct instructions the officer relayed over the phone helped provide the necessary strength, assurance and support to

the team who performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. It was not until sometime after the crisis, I realised I had terminated this vital lifeline of

communication without expressing my gratitude to the officer at the control centre, or from memory, even offering a simple goodbye.

My brother, who is also a police officer, and I arrived home to find my father passed out in the back yard covered in blood. The call taker who kept me on the phone was very reasurring and gave me instructions on how to care for my father and kept me updated to the second that the paramedics turned up. I was very impressed with how she assisted me. After a short time my father roused and became very difficult and aggressive. Your paramedic stayed professional and treated my father with great care and respect despite the way he was reacting. My brother and I eventually had to restrain my father to get him into the ambulance and rode with the paramedics in case he became aggressive again. The call taker and both paramedics deserve praise for their great work. I know that emergency service is often a thankless job.

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Dry July

JulEYE – Eye Health Awareness Month

Reserve Forces Day

NAIDOC Week

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July1–31

1–31

6

5–12

12-18

28

DonateLife Week

Jeans for Genes

The Sun-Herald City2Surf

Daffodil Day

Hearing Awareness Week

August2-9

7

9

28

23–29

Blue September

International Prostate Cancer

Awareness Month

R U OK? Day

National Stroke Awareness Week

September1-30

1-30

10

14-20

Mental Health Month

Ocsober

World Mental Health Day

October1-31

1-31

10

Lung Health Awareness Month

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November1-30

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Photo: Danielle Schaefer.

World AIDs day

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