Reach
Issue 6 2014
|
23
D
om Robertson works for
Airwave as Client Director
for the Health sector. He’s
more knowledgeable than most
about his customers, as he is also
a State Registered Paramedic.
On a monthly basis, Dom works
a 12-hour shift for West Midlands
Ambulance Service NHS Foundation
Trust, often working until the
early hours of either a Friday
or Saturday morning.
Dom trained as a paramedic
20 years ago, and stayed within
the Ambulance Service in
Buckinghamshire and Herefordshire
until he joined Airwave in 2006. “When
you train so hard for something,
you don’t want to see that work and
knowledge go to waste,” said Dom.
“I go out on my own, usually in a
rapid response vehicle, attending
999 calls on a range of incidents
from road trafc accidents to elderly
people who have taken a nasty fall.
And, of course, being a Friday night
there is always a fair share of alcohol-
related cases.
Dom Robertson at work for the West Midlands
Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
“The unique thing about being
a paramedic is that, because our
contact with the patient is often very
eeting, you don’t tend to build the
sort of relationship that a doctor or
nurse might build over the course of
a few days or weeks, so your ability
to instil a sense of calm in an often
chaotic environment, as well as to
build trust and rapport with patients
and relatives from all walks of life,
is essential. It’s always an intense
experience and it’s nice to know that
you’ve been able to play a part in
someone’s recovery.”
To retain his registration as a fully
qualied paramedic, Dom has to
pass rigorous assessments, and
complete regular courses, either in
person or online, but these refreshers
are no substitute for the on-the-job
experience he’s had since signing up
as a Bank paramedic ve years ago.
Of course Dom also gets the chance
to not only see the Airwave Service
from an insider’s perspective, but also
live and breathe the system as a user.
And, he says, the improvement in
communications from his early career
as a paramedic is dramatic.
He says: “When we were using
analogue terminals the coverage
could be incredibly patchy and poor
quality, so there were plenty of times
when you felt very much alone.
“The Airwave Service is obviously
so much better and it’s also very
reassuring to know that you
can always press the handset’s
emergency button should you get
into difculty.
“The majority of paramedics rarely
have to delve into the functionality
of their terminals because so much
is automatic and data driven, so
it’s also nice to be on hand to offer
advice in helping colleagues get
the best out of the Service. And I
can also feed back rst-hand
information on any common issues
or things that end users might
benet from in future.
“Being an end user obviously gives
you as good an impression as you
could possibly have of how critical
reliable and clear communication is,
which can only be a good thing.”
Seeing the Service
from both sides
