First aircrew member returns to Cornwall Air Ambulance in charity role

One of the very first members of the Cornwall Air Ambulance aircrew has joined the charity as an Operational Projects Consultant.

Working for the ambulance service in the west country, Paul Westaway pioneered paramedic training and supported the set-up of several air ambulance operations across the UK. He completed the first national paramedic course in 1985 and was among the first to qualify. In 1987 he helped to launch the very first air ambulance service in the country, right here in Cornwall. He flew every mission for the first three months and recruited the new crew members. Paul spent the first 18 months of the service flying as part of the aircrew as well as focusing on his training role.

“We thought we were kings of the air. There was no view that it could be anything bigger. I can remember doing eight missions in a day, and I know there were days that crews that followed me did 11”, said Paul. “We were doing ambulance service work. Cornwall often only had 11 ambulances on the road, so often all were busy, and we got called. It was sometimes low acuity work as well as the serious work, but we added value to everyone who we responded to.

“Not only have we seen a development in the extent of the service, 19 hours a day, 7 days a week, we are now looking at an advancement in the clinical care. Here in Cornwall we’ve got doctors as well as paramedics, and not just paramedics, we’re talking about critical care paramedics, so those who’ve received additional skills. The public, for the same pound of donation, are getting a hugely bigger service, and a hugely better service.”

Paul spent 21 years working in a variety of roles within the ambulance service, from training to emergency planning and in air ambulance development. He then left the NHS to join Bond Air Services, later taken over by Babcock Onshore, where he worked as an emergency services liaison, running the pilot training simulator and moving onto customer services and business development. 36 years after Cornwall Air Ambulance launched, he is now delighted to return to where it all started.

He said: “It’s pretty exciting, it has brought me right back to where I started, but I started with the ambulance service and now I’m working with the charity, so I’m thrilled to bits to do that. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with Cornwall, I’ve got a huge passion that Cornwall Air Ambulance is where it all started and I’m hugely proud of what we’ve done, and I think we’ve got some exciting times ahead.”

In his new role, Paul will be utilising his unsurpassed experience within the air ambulance community to oversee large-scale operational projects, such as working with the charity’s air operations partner, Castle Air, and to support clinical activity within the aircrew.