West Midlands paramedics give insight into working on the front line
Two West Midlands paramedics have revealed what it has been like working on the front line during the pandemic – and over the Christmas period.
Charlotte Stubbs, from Dudley, said she had worked most Christmas days from the age of 17 and spoke about her shifts over the festive period.
She said: “This year I worked across Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the December 27.
“I’ve never minded working on Christmas Day, though, as all the patients we meet are usually so jolly and everyone is in really high spirits.”
She said she would work a minimum of 12 hours on Christmas Day, with the start of the day being very quiet, then picking up after 3pm to become a more hectic evening.
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She also said that as her parents had worked as A&E nurses during the festive period. it did not feel any different for her to work on the day, with family celebrations instead taking place on December 23.
“If I could ask of anything from everyone it’s that you thank your NHS staff for their consistent commitment and care,” said Charlotte, who was featured in an article for the Stylist magazine.
“A simple ‘Merry Christmas’ or a ‘thank you’ honestly makes our day. Nothing ever goes unappreciated.”
Karina Graham, from Hollymoor, in Birmingham, spoke about her worries around catching the virus and passing it onto her children and family, while also describing some of the changes to her role during the pandemic.
Writing in Harpers Bazaar magazine, she said: “Just about everything has changed at work to some extent as we wear PPE to every case we go to now. We wear masks in the cab as we go to incidents.
"Just adapting the way we work to make sure elderly patients who might be deaf can either hear us or understand what we are saying through a mask makes the job a little more difficult.
"Through all the difficulties Covid has brought the NHS, my colleagues, whatever their role, have stood side by side supporting each other and ultimately the health system itself. I am proud of what we’ve achieved.”
