Base doctor takes up role at Wiltshire Air Ambulance

EXPERIENCED pre-hospital emergency care doctor, Maria Smith, is delighted to be working in her home county, training Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s paramedics.

Dr Smith was born and brought up in Wiltshire and in her role as the base doctor at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, she oversees clinical governance, trains the service’s paramedics to develop their critical care skills and undertakes operational shifts on the helicopter and rapid response car.

Since joining Wiltshire Air Ambulance in her part-time role last year Dr Smith, who has a home in Melksham and relatives living in the county said, “I’m really proud to be working with Wiltshire Air Ambulance and I’m very lucky to be doing a job that I really enjoy. For me, it’s about wanting every patient to get the care you would want your mum or dad to get.

“Wiltshire Air Ambulance is a great team, from the pilots and paramedics to the charity staff. It’s such a well-supported charity and we couldn’t do what we do without the support of the public who fundraise for it. The new airbase at Semington is really exciting and it will be nice for the crew and charity team to be on the same site.

“The paramedics are all outstanding. They are really good people and are very keen to learn and develop their skills to benefit patients. Their specialist skills mean they can assist their land ambulance colleagues by giving pre-hospital blood transfusions, additional drugs and other interventions to patients who are critically ill or injured.”

Maria was born at Bradford-on-Avon maternity hospital and was brought up in Atworth, where she attended the village school.

At the age of 11 she joined St John Ambulance and attended groups in Atworth, Melksham and Devizes before she became the divisional superintendent for Devizes, a voluntary role. When she left St Mark’s School, Bath, Maria wanted to become a paramedic but at that time applicants had to be aged 21. Instead, she worked at Chippenham College in the finance office and during this time she enrolled at night school to study A-levels to enable her to get into medical school to train to become a doctor.

After graduating from University College, London, as a doctor in 1999 she worked in various hospitals, including the John Radcliffe at Oxford. She has worked in pre-hospital emergency medicine (PHEM) since 2007 and previously worked at Essex and Herts Air Ambulance and London Air Ambulance. In 2009 she became a consultant and her full-time job is as an Accident & Emergency consultant at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. This also involves her working with Magpas Air Ambulance.  Maria said working on air ambulances gives her a unique insight when treating patients.

“I like seeing patients early and trying to make a difference early,” she said. “There’s something very different about seeing patients where incidents happened and understanding how they happened. The air ambulance world is really good at training to ensure the safety of crews and governance and I take that back into my hospital work.”