
Guest blog by Catherine Hayden, Allied Health Professional and Advanced Clinical Practitioner Education Lead/Paramedic Ambassador, Somerset LMC
I remember my last emergency ambulance shift quite clearly. It was an exceptionally long, hot and sticky 12-hour night shift in July and as dawn broke I took a selfie with my ambulance for posterity, and unceremoniously went home and fell asleep. I had no idea what was around the corner, I’d been offered a job in primary care at a West Somerset surgery that had recently employed two of my ex-colleagues and they felt paramedics really added value to their team and wanted more of us.
There were no training pathways, no NHS England Roadmaps to Practice, paramedics were not able to prescribe and the Advanced Practice agenda didn’t include us at all. What we did have was a great team, exceptionally supportive colleagues and GP partners who (very patiently) provided us with intensive supervision as they identified both our skills gaps as well as our strengths as they built our scope of practice.
Today, in terms of professional development, paramedics have moved forward in primary and urgent care at unimaginable speed. Most general practices in Somerset now employ one or more paramedics as part of their multi-professional teams; we have numerous Higher Education Training Pathways to Advanced Practice; we have portfolio and taught route First Contact Practitioner opportunities; I and many of my colleagues have completed Non-Medical Prescribing courses and can manage numerous urgent and complex presentations from beginning to end. In addition to clinical practitioners, I have paramedic colleagues who are Clinical Leads, Directors and even a Practice Partner.
Whilst I cannot claim to have reached the dizzying heights others have, I do have a dual role which I thoroughly enjoy. I work as a patient-facing practitioner in one of our Somerset surgeries for three days a week, but I am also the Advanced Practice and Allied Health Professional Lead for Somerset Training Hub and the Local Medical Committee for two days. This allows me to develop my Leadership skills in a very different way to my clinical role and, as I originally came from an NHS management background, I can continue to develop more strategic and system-wide experience whilst also working as a clinician. What I am impressed with in Somerset is the amount of professional opportunities there are for paramedics and other Allied Health Professionals. Whether in education, research, quality improvement or leadership, opportunities beyond clinical practice can enhance your skills and offer different challenges and experience.
Despite the ever-increasing pressures on our NHS I feel it is also a time of great change and development and I am curious to see where that takes the paramedic profession next.