Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 19 April 2024 at 23:45
This week we’re going ‘behind the scenes’ with Stuart Woolley, Specialist Practitioner in primary care. Stuart has worked with the ambulance service for 13 years, two of those with EEAST.
Hi Stuart! Tell us a bit about yourself…
I’ve been in the ambulance service for about 13 years in various roles, more recently as an emergency care practitioner (specialist practitioner in primary care) in semi-rural Essex.
In my role I respond to 999 calls on a rapid response vehicle, along with providing a full range of paramedic duties. I aim to provide an enhanced level of pre-hospital primary care, so assessing, treating, diagnosing and either referring onto a speciality or, where appropriate, aiming for safe A&E admission avoidance. That could be through supplying drugs, giving wound care at scene, or social/medical care plans for example.
What do you enjoy most about it?
As odd as it sounds, I have a special interest in palliative and end-of-life care. This category of patients often present to us in a time of anxiety, stress and a state of not knowing what to do. I get immense satisfaction when I can arrange necessary care, provide pain relief, or even just give advice to make what is an incredibly stressful time a little bit easier for that patient and their family. We’ve got a great team of community nurses and hospices who we can contact to help us with this.
My favourite thing about my career is the variety it brings; no two days are ever the same. You can’t plan your next shift’s workload and that’s what makes it unique; during my time I’ve been lucky enough to work as part of the medical team covering the Paralympics in Kent, providing medical cover to a team of dedicated athletes showing what you can overcome with severe physical disabilities. That’s an experience I wouldn’t have had anywhere else.
Which of our Trust values is most important to you, and why?
It’s difficult to choose just one, as they all work together. I’d probably say ‘quality’ – having the ability to provide high quality care is important to me. I’m normally always reading a clinical textbook or studying different courses.
And finally, tell us something people might not know about you.
I used to be fluent in Japanese!
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