The Ambulance Service which I joined in 1965 belonged to a very
different world from today’s NHS Service. Vehicles, equipment, training,
uniform, everything has altered and improved beyond the wildest dreams
of the ambulancemen of those early years. But, despite dealing daily
with injuries and trauma, one vital factor has not changed – the ability
to see the funny side of life at the sharp end. This lighter view of a
very serious profession enable crews to retain a degree of sanity amid
situations the general public seldom encounter.
My career commenced in
Lincolnshire with Lindsey
County Council Ambulance Service, one of 160+ ambulance services
provided by local government. The 1974 NHS reorganization reduced the
number of services to 52 and transferred me into the newly formed
Lincolnshire Service where promotion moved me around the county
undertaking a number of varying posts. 1980 saw further promotion taking
me south to the Buckinghamshire Service from which I departed two years
later heading for Cleveland Ambulance. In 1999 as part of further
amalgamations Cleveland merged with those of
North Yorkshire and parts of
Humberside reducing the NHS Services in England
to 33. July 2006 saw further mergers reducing
this figure to 12. This means that the five Ambulance Services to
which I belonged are now defunct, not, I would hasten
to add through any fault of mine!
So how did my 'new' career in public speaking begin? In 1987, as
Deputy Chief, I was ‘volunteered’ to be spokesman for Cleveland
Ambulance with the aim of promoting and publicising the Service
following wide ranging alterations in how we operated. Offering to
address local groups to tell them more about 'their' local Service, I
developed informative sessions covering such matters as “what happens
when you dial 999?”, “what is a Paramedic?”, “what equipment is carried
in an emergency ambulance?” etc. By the time I retired in 2000 these
sessions had become popular, with recommendations spreading by word of
mouth. Requests for talks continued to find me which I then had to
decline. However, one lady was most insistent. Eventually, whilst
pointing out that I could no longer speak on behalf of the Service, I
agreed to entertain them with amusing incidents from my operational
years. That event brought in further requests and led to Ambulance
Tales, each story created to
entertain my audience. I can modestly claim the talks have been highly
successful, with bookings increasing annually and from a wider area. I
meet many nice people and discover delightful areas of the country –
also getting lost with increasing regularity! As a result of these talks
I have now produced two
books of ambulance short
stories plus my latest A Simple Soldier which covers in
greater detail my army years. Each publication is guaranteed to raise a
smile.
Whilst my experiences date from some forty years ago, they give the
audience an insight into the generally unseen, unusual and unpublicised
activities of the NHS Ambulance Service. Although I originated from
Lincolnshire, and my
wife Liz from Essex, we are happily settled in North Yorkshire, three
miles from the North York Moors National Park and in easy distance of
our baby sitting duties. With my
talks and
writing, plus a range of local
voluntary commitments, and a young Spaniel, we enjoy a full and happy
retirement.
