As part of Road Safety Week, we accompanied newly qualified paramedic, Lee Attwood, and his crew mate, emergency care assistant, Adrian Kaczmarczyk, on a 7am-5pm shift from the Blue Light Hub in Milton Keynes.
Whilst we were fortunate not to be sent to any road traffic collisions during our shift, Lee took time when we returned to base at the end of the shift to speak about the impact that responding to serious collisions can have on him and his colleagues, as well as the support that can be accessed by frontline staff.
According to The Journal of Paramedic Practice (Aug, 2023), post-traumatic stress disorder is up to 10 times greater in the ambulance service than in the general public, higher than both the police and fire services and equal to that in the military.
Watch Lee’s short video here: