00:06Thank you very much, Tracy, and good afternoon everybody.
00:11It's great for me to back in Birmingham, and for any fellow bird barons of us today,
00:15I look forward to celebrating, I'll win an episode later.
00:19I'm particularly pleased to be standing here as the College of Caramedics' new patron
00:23and to have the opportunity to join your first ever emergency and prison care conference.
00:29Thank you to everyone who's made this event possible.
00:32Often referred to as the split army knife of frontline healthcare,
00:36paramedics and those in the emergency services are adaptable, multi-skilled,
00:41and crucially, know how to work on the pressure.
00:45This pressure is something I was all too familiar with during my time as a pilot
00:49for IF Search and Rescue, and for the East Anglican Airlines.
00:53Both Hutch and Ed just characterised this experience so well in their sessions.
00:59My time in these roles allowed me to better understand the day-to-day challenges that you all face,
01:05and gave me the lifelong motivation to do all I care to support your community.
01:10It is not just another job. Every day provides unpredictable challenges.
01:16Every shout is a journey into the unknown, and every split-second decision has a measurable impact on so many
01:23people.
01:25Catherine and I visited Southport in New York as part of the Royal Foundation's work with the Blue Light Car
01:31Foundation,
01:33providing emergency responders with psychological support.
01:37Speaking to the paramedics and other frontline care providers on that day was another reminder of the horrors you can
01:44be met with,
01:46but also the vital job that you do.
01:50Saving lives is not the only challenge you face. In your role, you are there for people in the most
01:57critical and emotional moments,
01:59having to display care and skill in highly stressful and often distressing circumstances.
02:07Working a lot beside you in Wales and East Anglia, I know the team effort that is required to provide
02:13emergency healthcare.
02:15But I also know that at the beginning, it is sometimes a lone paramedic.
02:20In a car, on a bike, in a helicopter, in an ambulance, on foot.
02:28Your ability to calm a patient, to distance their fears, to reassure them that health has arrived, is as important
02:36as the subsequent medical intervention.
02:40But as you know all too well, this can lead to thoroughness and a significant impact on your mental wellbeing.
02:47And with the role of paramedic ever evolving, expanding into research, leadership and academic domains, there is increasingly pressure placed
02:57upon your shoulders.
03:00So as well as doing what you do best in the care of others, it is vital that you are
03:05also there for yourselves and for each other.
03:08In particular, supporting paramedic students coming through the ranks, to ensure a strong, capable workforce for years to come.
03:17The working life of the members of your college has spent a considerable period of time.
03:23And I am aware that many of you would have been on the front line during the fight against Covid.
03:28Where Chris Bell, a paramedic of the Yorkshire Analyst Service, attended that first Covid patient in the UK.
03:35He and we have no idea of the significance of our illness.
03:41A further demonstration of the unknown we face for every call, every day.
03:47You and your NHS colleagues undertook remarkable work in the most testing of circumstances.
03:53We will never forget your unwavering and brave work during that period.
03:58And I am so proud to become a patriot of an organisation which is committed to supporting the mental health
04:04and wellbeing of paramedics
04:06and fostering an environment where all paramedics can thrive.
04:10In this country we owe enormous debt and gratitude to our emergency services.
04:15And paramedics and whatever guys, your work uniquely places tremendous demands upon you.
04:21We owe you an artist to our home by doing this part.
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04:27Applaudissements
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