A Special Breed for the Country

PARAMEDICS in the country are a special breed and the new station manager at Scone, Mark Bell, is no exception.

Most people who work in health don’t want to stray far from the support and resources of the metropolitan area where highly specialised teams can take over patient care within minutes and where they have anonymity after work without bumping into patients.

Mark Bell said he understands why many of his colleagues prefer working in metropolitan areas but they are the same reasons he enjoys working in the country.

Mark Bell is the new station manager at Scone Ambulance.

“I actually like bumping into patients at the café and asking how they are doing I’m genuinely interested and that is why I joined the job,” said Mr Bell.

“Because I am not doing ten jobs a day, I’m doing on average three a day, you do get a bit more time to spend with your patients and do follow up,” he said.

“You can wear a number on your uniform, or you can wear your name and when you work in the country you tend to want to wear the name,” he said.

“The disadvantage is when you are emotionally attached to someone you are treating and if they move on then it does impact you more and it is personal and that’s a normal response; but if that is the case and I am able to share that moment with people and they are comforted by me being there with them that is a really important part of the care that we can give, it may not be the drugs or the equipment, it is the reassurance and that is huge,” Mark Bell said.

While it can be isolating working in rural Australia, Mark said they are part of a broader response team and their clinical judgement on scene can make a significant difference to patients.

“You are a long time without anybody else and it can be very isolating, so we do rely on the helicopter for aero-medical,” he said.

“We give a report from the scene and patient updates so the broader team can then decide if they send the chopper and it is important that we give the right information so they can make the right decisions.

“We work closely with the local hospitals and know the capabilities, so we know what’s the appropriate action for the patient,” Mark Bell said.

While Mark said he prefers being a paramedic in a rural area, he wished patients were more inclined to pick up the phone to them.

“In the country people are worried that you are busy and they don’t want to bother you, but we are here to help,” he said.

“I’ve had one guy who thought he was having a heart attack try to drive himself to hospital.

“In the country we do have more time for our patients and we’d much rather people ring 000 and let them decide if we are needed, or if they can drive themselves to a doctor,” Mark Bell said.

Mark was previously posted at Merriwa acting as a station manager and was glad to take up the permanent role in Scone in December.