Ian Jones – Flight Paramedic

Ian worked for Staffordshire Ambulance Service before applying for a post with the Air Ambulance.  Ian is now a full-time member of the Staffordshire Air Ambulance flight crew based in the county.

A Day with Ian Jones – Flight Paramedic

The day starts with the alarm going off at 04:45, which gives me time to have a coffee and to feed my dogs before leaving for work.  I get to base for 06:30 to allow time before the 07:00 shift start After changing into my flight suit, I sign out medical equipment and take the intravenous fluids from the overnight warmers.  After my first coffee of the morning, it’s time to get the aircraft ready for the day by removing all tie downs and checking oxygen, kit levels, monitors and ventilators are working correctly. I also help my Paramedic colleague to follow the same tasks for our responder car, which is used when we are unable to fly.  While I am completing these tasks, the pilot commences his start of the day checks.  We then do a joint helicopter ground run and engine wash.  A morning brief is then conducted prior to going on-line at 07:30 (weather permitting), and then we try to ensure we have breakfast!

Following a busy morning we have an early afternoon call to a quarry where a man is believed to be trapped in machinery.  Following a 15 minutes flight we arrive overhead the quarry and could see two fire engines in attendance at a tall building.  We make our approach and land as close to the building as possible. Taking our responder bag and hard hats, we head toward the building entrance leading to a balcony overlooking a large grinder. We are met by a fire officer who is on the balcony explaining that a man had been cleaning the inside of the grinder and had slipped and was now trapped.  The fire team were already in the process of making the scene safe, ensuring the machine was off.

The patient remained trapped in the machine and so I chose to enter the machine to perform a medial assessment.  It became apparent that the patient was trapped between the grinding wheel and the grinding surface and was slowly slipping further into the machine.  Compression on the patient’s abdomen was impeding his breathing, resulting in an understandable degree of panic.