Be inspired on International Women's Day!
International Women’s Day is about raising awareness about discrimination, and working towards a world that’s equitable and diverse, free of bias and stereotypes.
It is also about celebrating celebrates women’s achievements, and EMRTS is proud to share the stories of just a few women without whom we wouldn’t be able to provide the service we do.
The theme for this year’s IWD is ‘Inspire Inclusion’ – and here are just a few of our inspirational colleagues, from life-saving clinicians, to those behind the scenes who keep the service running smoothly.
Happy International Women’s Day – and be inspired!
Chelsea Hilliard - Critical Care Transfer Assistant, Bangor
Hello on international women's day!
I joined ACCTS in 2022 as a Critical Care transfer assistant and was thrilled to do so.
ACCTS has played a pivotal role in my personal and professional development, allowing me to gain confidence and skills that have fuelled my transition into a career in nursing. With immense support from my team, I applied to study Adult Nursing and I have just completed my first year. Balancing my role as a CCTA alongside my studies, I'm eager to learn more and hope to gain further skill and experience in critical care.
Kate Milly Humphries – Critical Care Practitioner, Welshpool
I joined EMRTS in the summer of 2017, and have been with the service for almost 7 years. I am a paramedic by background, and previously worked in the West Midlands, and with the Welsh Ambulance Service before gaining my current position.
As a Critical Care Practitioner (CCP), I provide prehospital care to some of the most severely injured or unwell people in Wales. Although I sometimes work as part of a doctor-led team, for the majority of my shifts I work alongside another CCP. We have had advanced training to provide patients with medications and interventions outside of the standard paramedic scope of practice.
As part of the training requirements for my role I have completed a Master’s degree in Advanced Critical Care Practice and can independently administer blood products. I am also heavily involved in education; I teach and assess on advanced adult and paediatric life support courses to doctors, nurses and paramedics and also organise and deliver training days to EMRTS and ACCTS colleagues.
Most recently I had the honour of being asked to contribute to the national Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC) paramedic guidelines, and formed part of a small group writing some new guidelines that will be published soon.
I currently work part-time, and when I’m not at work, I spend my time running around after two small children, and dragging them off on outdoor adventures. They love coming to the base and seeing the helicopter up close, and my daughter wants to be a HEMS paramedic when she grows up (she’s 4!).
Women make up less than quarter of the current CCP workforce, but I am really lucky to have the privilege of working alongside two other fantastic women on the base at Welshpool, Kat Lynch and Kate Owen. They are by far some of the most knowledgeable and skilled CCPs I have worked with, and I have the great fortune to learn and be inspired by them on a daily basis.
Rebecca Cann - Critical Care Allocator, Cwmbran
My career within EMRTS started in 2020 and we hit the ground running as the UK went in to lock down on induction day three!
Thankfully my previous role had given me a lot of the skills needed for my current role. I previously worked 15 years in the Welsh Ambulance Service where I started as a 999 Call handler and progressed up through the ranks to an EMS Allocator and Control room trainer.
My role within EMRTS is to assist with the deploying of our Critical Care teams throughout Wales. No two days are the same and I feel like I go home after a shift feeling I have made a difference. My main motivation is a drive to help people and I always felt that I would work in an area that did that.
It is a high-pressured job which involves multi-tasking, active listening and continual re prioritising of tasks. I like the pace of the job and the variety it brings. I can be challenging but I thrive under pressure and really enjoy the unpredictability of the role.
Working on the Critical Care Hub means we are involved in all the cases that EMRTS attend. I sit on the Education and Major Incident working groups and hope to help to shape and improve the service as we move forward.
I’m surrounded by many amazing men and women in my role and in my team, I’m fortunate to work alongside highly skilled clinicians both on the Hub and in our clinical teams.
Not many people get to say that they love their job – fortunately I am one of the lucky ones who can!
Hayley Blyth, Business Manager
I joined EMRTS nearly three years ago having worked across a number of NHS organisations for the past 24 years.
My role within EMRTS is varied and includes leading our fantastic admin and support teams across the five bases, as well as working on a number of other areas such as finance and payroll, quality and governance, and ensuring our HR and recruitment systems are efficient and effective.
No day is ever the same and it’s the variety that I love about it. The experiences I have had since being in post have not only been great to have been part of, but have given me a chance to enhance skills and have included being part of the housekeeping team for the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales; organising a two-day conference which was both in person and virtual, with speakers from Australia and USA, as well as a week’s training camp in an army base in North Wales in October - definitely character building!
A lot of the time, my role is to ensure that the various cogs in the system keep turning so the clinical teams can focus on what they do best. I work as part of the Leadership Team within the service and feel privileged and proud to be able to support our team to maintain clinical operations.
Bethan Jones, ACCTS Operations Lead
I joined ACCTS back at the launch of the service in August of 2021. I had been a senior staff nurse in intensive care for 7 years and saw the opportunity to use my skills and knowledge in a different role.
Having started on a bank contract I gained valuable experience and knowledge in the field of transfer medicine working alongside a highly motivated, skilled and friendly team. Balancing my workload between my substantive role in hospital and a bank contract with ACCTS was challenging at times, but I always made sure I had time to spend with family and friends and my cocker spaniel Lyla, who will go on endless walks if given the opportunity!
I was fortunate to be offered a substantive role in ACCTS in October 2022 and have transitioned into a role as the Operational Lead in January of last year. I look forward to seeing the evolution of ACCTS and the benefits we can bring to the critical care patients of Wales, ensuring equal access and exemplary care to this patient group.