Holleigh explained, “I joined at 19 working as a 999 call handler. Shortly after I progressed to dispatcher, before applying for my first frontline role as an associate ambulance practitioner. I became a student paramedic in 2018 and graduated from Portsmouth University in 2019. After completing my newly qualified paramedic (NQP) consolidation period with my old service, I joined NWAS in July 2020.”

After qualifying as a paramedic, Holleigh returned to working in the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) as a rotational specialist practitioner (RSP), the role she is currently in and loves. A day in the life of an RSP is never dull as Holleigh explains, “There are three different aspects to my role, one day I could be working in the Clinical Hub completing telephone triage assessments and assisting frontline crews with clinical advice callbacks. Next, I could be floorwalking, so working alongside our emergency call handlers, providing clinical advice on live 999 calls, or I could be out on the road responding to emergency and urgent incidents.I get the best of both worlds in my role, as I can directly impact patient care right from the very first 999 call, as well as responding to patients face-to-face.”

Holleigh loves how she can help, not only her patients – like assisting with the birth of three babies over the phone – but also her fellow colleagues in this role. She said, “I enjoy being able to support our emergency call handlers during difficult or complex live 999 calls and being able to discuss and debrief with them afterward, which helps them to learn and develop. Starting as an emergency call handler myself, I remember struggling to understand certain conditions and turning to my senior colleagues for advice and being relieved when they were able to point me in the right direction. Now I am grateful to be the clinician helping our emergency call handlers. It’s almost like I’ve gone full circle.”

With every job comes its challenges and Holleigh tells us what they are, “Dealing with distressed callers can be challenging, whether it’s the patient calling who is struggling to breathe, or a parent concerned about their unwell child, you need to take control of the call but also still show compassion and care towards them.”

As an RSP, Holleigh is constantly improving her own assessment skills and with tools like GoodSam, she is able to provide the best quality care to our patients and develop her skills. She explained, “We use the GoodSam video consultation app to aid us with triaging over the phone. It enables us to send a secure link to any smartphone and helps us to see what we’re hearing. For example, we can assess wounds using this video triage tool. It can help us decide what the most appropriate course of action will be, or we can use it to be shown an injury that the caller might have difficulty describing. We can also use it during crew advice callbacks to support our colleagues in making a joint decision, such as reviewing electrocardiograms (ECGs).”

Holleigh would encourage anyone who has a similar passion for helping people as she does to pursue a career within the ambulance service. She said, “As someone who never believed they could become a paramedic after dropping out of college, I say go for it! Not only do you get to help people in their time of need, but you join the ambulance service family, full of support during your bad days and celebrations during your great days. There is no other job like it, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”