28 Mar 2025
National Doctors Day
March 30, 2025, is National Doctors’ Day so we are taking some time to acknowledge the doctors who are part of the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) crew. Your support enables them to carry out their role, alongside EAAA critical care paramedics and pilots, to provide advanced care to seriously ill and injured people across our region.
We recently spoke to Dr Tim, one of the newest doctors to join EAAA, and Dr Jeremy, one of EAAA’s longest standing doctors, to gain a snapshot into the role of doctors within the charity.
Dr Tim joined EAAA in February this year as a Senior Clinical Fellow in pre-hospital emergency medicine. He works as part of the crew responding to emergency calls by air or critical care car, usually from EAAA’s Cambridge base. These taskings can be to people of any age and could be any type of emergency from a cardiac arrest to a road traffic collision or a serious illness.
“I wanted to be a doctor from a young age,” Dr Tim explains. “My mum was a nurse and so growing up I was always hearing stories about her work, and it seemed a fascinating world with interesting characters and events and being part of a close team. I’d also happened to see someone having a medical emergency when I was young, and I wanted to be in a position where I would know what to do in that sort of situation.”
Dr Tim adds that being a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) doctor is something that he has been interested in since starting training in emergency medicine.
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The critical moments in a patient's injury or illness have often happened before they reach the emergency department, so working in a field where you can deliver high quality care earlier in the journey is really valuable.
— Dr Tim
Dr Tim also adds that he was rescued by helicopter in France after crashing a paraglider on a mountain. “I can appreciate the value of an air ambulance from the other side!” He says.
Upon joining EAAA earlier this year, Dr Tim was joined by other doctors new to EAAA to complete a week-long Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine course of lectures, discussions, and simulated medical emergencies to prepare them for the work they would be doing.
“It was intense, but a great way to get into the mindset of the new job, get to know each other, and to meet the paramedics, doctors, and the charity staff we would be working with. It’s early days in this new role but the most rewarding bit so far is being able to attend to patients promptly and to be able to provide the same interventions that would be given in a hospital emergency or critical care department at the scene, and to be able to choose the most appropriate hospital for that patient.”
Dr Jeremy is EAAA’s longest-serving clinician, having been with the charity for 22 years. He is also a Consultant in Intensive Care and Anaesthetics at the West Suffolk Hospital, specialising in Paediatric Anaesthetics.
Dr Jeremy worked on London HEMS in 1998, before moving to Suffolk in 2001. He has worked as a BASICS doctor since 1995 and is also a volunteer with Suffolk Accident Rescue Service (SARS). He is usually part of the Anglia One (Norwich) crew, which operates out of Helimed House, EAAA’s Norwich headquarters.
He was one of the first doctors to fly with EAAA, completing his first shift with the charity as a volunteer doctor in April 2002. In over twenty years of working with EAAA, Dr Jeremy has attended hundreds of critically unwell and injured people across the region, as well as seeing the charity grow and develop to the 24/7 life-saving service it is today.
“Every aspect of the charity has changed and improved over the years,” Dr Jeremy explains. “From the helicopters to the level of equipment, plus the treatment and care we’re able to provide at the scene. It really has developed dramatically over the last 22 years.”
Communities and patients are at the heart of everything EAAA does. “My favourite part of the role is seeing the difference EAAA can make to patients,” Dr Jeremy adds. “It is incredibly rewarding when they come back to visit after they have been through a tough time. EAAA donors and fundraisers have a huge impact. We couldn’t turn a wheel or a rotor without their support.”