NSW Ambulance has welcomed 62 new paramedic interns and 19 emergency medical call takers after they were officially inducted into the service at a ceremony at the State Operations Centre in Sydney on Friday.
This latest cohort provides a further boost to frontline health services across the state, bringing a range of experiences and backgrounds to NSW Ambulance.
This includes paramedic intern Caleb Poole who spent part of his childhood in Sudan with his missionary parents, and trainee emergency medical call taker Antigone Hall, transitioning into healthcare after nearly three decades working in television and production.
The paramedic interns will be posted across NSW to complete the on-road portion of their 12-month internships, while the new emergency medical call takers will be posted to the Sydney and Northern Control Centres.
This is part of the Minns Labor Government's plan to rebuild our frontline workforce including by delivering a historic pay increase for our paramedics and recruiting an additional 500 paramedics in rural and regional areas.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:
"This boost to the paramedic workforce ensures patients right across NSW continue to receive the highest quality emergency medical care, regardless of where they live.
"This new intake of paramedic interns and emergency medical call takers will help boost our front-line workforce, ensuring people can continue to access emergency care when they need it most.
"I want to congratulate these paramedics and control staff, and thank them for their dedication. Welcome to the team."
Quotes attributable to NSW Ambulance Interim Chief Executive Clare Beech:
"The contribution of additional workforce will further enhance the capacity of the service to deliver timely, professional and patient-centred care.
"The integration of new clinicians strengthens our foundations, ensuring delivery of consistent and high-quality care into the future.
"Paramedics and control staff are highly trained clinicians and coordinators, bringing advanced medical care to the patient, continually refining clinical skills and expertise. "
Quotes attributable to paramedic intern Caleb Poole:
"I first started thinking about a paramedicine career during my last couple of years at school, inspired in part by my parents in Africa, working in the community and helping people when they are at their most vulnerable.
"I will be starting at a metropolitan station first, but in the future, I am keen to work in a small, regional location and get to know the rural lifestyle."
Quotes attributable to trainee emergency medical call taker Antigone Hall:
"I loved the pace, the people and the challenge of live television, but I reached a point where I was ready for something different, a career that felt more meaningful and where I could make a real difference to people's lives.
"I researched the opportunities available within the NSW Ambulance and becoming an emergency call taker immediately appealed to me."
