I’m Chief Technician Phil Hunter based at RAF Odiham as an A Tech M engineer on the Chinook helicopter. After years of working first line I’m now in a training role specialising in the monitoring and analysis of vibration and its negative effect on the aircraft. You could say I know a thing or two about carrying passengers as comfortably as possible...
I’ve done numerous exercises and overseas operations over the years including JACANA, TELIC, HERRICK and more recently SHADER. I was part of Op FRESCO in the early 2000’s which provided a fire fighting capability during times of strike action by regular crews.
I’m now assigned to Op RESCRIPT which is providing military assistance to NHS ambulance crews. As a qualified blue light response driver and already holding the C/C1 category on my license, I undertook three days of intensive training and familiarisation on the ambulances you regularly see on the roads. This allows South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) to use me to bolster their manpower during these testing times and maximise the vehicles on the road responding to 999 calls.
On a working rota as per the full time SCAS staff, I’m assigned shifts wherever needed and am paired off with a clinician to operate the dual crewed ambulances (DCA) that you can see in the background. Most of my shifts have been out of Bracknell Ambulance Station, where all the team leaders, front line crews and make ready staff have been very welcoming and genuinely appreciate our assistance.
In this role I don’t just simply drive the ambulances; there’s so much more to it than that! I get to use the skills I’ve learnt as a volunteer Co-Responder with the two marked ambulance cars which run out of RAF Odiham. This includes transferring and immobilising patients, taking observations (blood pressure, blood O2 saturation levels, temperature, pulse rate, blood sugar levels etc), and functioning an ECG which looks at the heart from numerous angles to confirm or deny issues such as heart attacks.
It is an extremely rewarding role to be a part of and it can be fascinating at times. You can go from sitting with a cup of tea in the crew room to racing towards a confirmed cardiac arrest within the blink of an eye. I find it extremely humbling to be in somebody’s bedroom or lounge at their hour of need, and although not every job requires blue lights and sirens, I’ve had several heart-breaking jobs in the few weeks I have been doing this.
SCAS are very good at supporting their staff and have numerous ways of helping or listening. More often than not I find that having an open and honest debrief immediately after any major job clears my mind ready for whatever is thrown up next.
The shifts tend to vary between 10 or 12 hours, though because of the nature of the job if you manage to finish bang on time you’re very lucky!
As you can probably tell I’m really enjoying the challenge this opportunity has given me. The Co-Responder team at Odiham is always looking to recruit keen and confident service personnel of all ranks and trades who can commit to regular shifts. All training and uniform are provided and for me personally I’ve grown in confidence, learnt skills and had experiences which no promotion course or role within my trade could ever prepare me for.
