A FORMER Worcester paramedic who worked for the NHS on the day it began has been reflecting on seven decades of change in the service which celebrated its 70th birthday.
Eric Carnall, who is now 91, began his journey into the ambulance service after leaving the army in 1947. He started working for Ronkswood Hospital as an ambulance driver who was responsible for transporting injured military personnel around.
But with the forming of the NHS on July 5 1948, he was immediately transferred to Worcester City Ambulance Service and it was then he began responding to 999 calls.
Eric, who also went on to work for the fire and police services, said: “There were six ambulances and six drivers, it was seen as a very important job.
“We had nobody out with us, we always responded on our own and our working hours were 8am to 6pm six days a week. Outside of that volunteers were responsible for responding.
“The vehicles and equipment we had to use were very poor quality really. We had nothing but a first aid kit to start with. Eventually the service did buy an oxygen kit, but we only had one to share between the six ambulances.”
Whereas there were six ambulances in operation in Worcester in 1948, West Midlands Ambulance Service now has a fleet of 465 ambulances and 5,000 staff, a far cry from Eric’s day.
“It wasn’t just the number of vehicles or staff, it was the jobs we had to do as well,” he recalled. “We had to paint our own ambulances with a two-inch paint brush, wash our own soiled blankets and also complete any maintenance required on any of the vehicles. You just cannot imagine that happening today.
“One of the paid ambulance drivers would also have to be on shift overnight in case all of the volunteers were busy, and that was unpaid. We were on £7 a week at the time which was very good money back then, to be fair.”
Whilst not at the levels we see today, inappropriate calls and attacks on staff are not a new thing, as Eric explained.
“I remember taking one call where the patient was blatantly asking for a lift home from the pub because they had drunk too much. After a short conversation, we managed to convince him that a taxi was the better option.
“I also remember attending a job where a man had been knocked down by a car. I was knelt down trying to find out was wrong with him when a guy put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me on to my back, saying ‘I’ll deal with this I’m a first aider’. I didn’t really have chance to say anything to him because he was very quickly arrested by the police.
“I was one of the NHS’s earliest employees and still believe today that it is needed desperately.
“It’s hard because it always need more money.
“If we lost the ambulance service as a free thing through the NHS, it will be very sadly missed.”
