Russell Clarke's job as a paramedic is endlessly diverse, writes James Russell.
After 20 years in the New Zealand Air Force, advanced paramedic Russell Clarke joined the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust - more commonly known as the Westpac Rescue Helicopter - in January this year.
In terms of variety and excitement, it is hard to top the job of a paramedic - particularly a flight paramedic.
When Clarke reports for work at the Trust's base in Mechanics Bay for a shift, he has no idea what he may end up doing that day.
In addition to the bread and butter of the job - treating trauma injuries and medical conditions, he is also the one who gets to jump out of the helicopter into roiling seas, or be winched on to the deck of a pitching yacht in the middle of a storm.
He doesn't know if he'll end up wearing the bright red paramedic's overalls, heavy wet weather gear or a wetsuit. Throw in the occasional injury, and it all adds up to an incredibly demanding job.
It's exciting stuff - exciting enough for a television series - Rescue One, a programme based on the jobs of these paramedics, went to air last week with the second series and the first series won a Qantas award for best reality show.
"The diversity of my job is brilliant," says Clarke.
On one day recently we attended to people injured in a motor vehicle accident in the morning, treated a 14-year-old boy for burns in the afternoon and picked up a diver with the bends in the Coromandel in the evening.
You never know what you will get." With over 500 missions a year flown from the Auckland base, the diversity of the work is endless.
The job of a paramedic on a helicopter requires a huge amount of training, both in becoming qualified to do the job, and also a rigorous and regular training schedule week in, week out.
There is an annual fitness test which paramedics are required to pass, and the base is littered with fitness equipment for the staff to keep in good shape.
The paramedics are allotted an hour each week with a professional swimming coach to keep them ready for all eventualities in the water. There is a personal weight limit which the crew are not allowed to breach.
It's a truly adventurous job, and people are lining up to do it. But opportunities have to be fought for, and people in the job rarely leave it until they are ready to retire.
Auckland is the only base that has full-time paramedics essentially on the base all the time, waiting for callouts. All other rescue helicopter centres in New Zealand involve taking a paramedic off the road when a job is on.
Because the paramedics are at the base 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, response times are extremely quick. From the initial phone call, crews can be at Waiheke Island in eight minutes, Great Barrier Island in 23 minutes, the Awhitu Peninsula in 10 minutes and the top of the Coromandel in 20 minutes.
Clarke is immensely well qualified for the job. His 20 years with the New Zealand Air Force was spent as an airborne paramedic, serving time in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq. He has seen the worst of war - he has been shot at with guns and missiles. He treated patients from the Bali bombings, and was on duty in Sumatra after the Boxing Day tsunami.
And in all probability he talks 'shop' when he goes home - his wife is still a paramedic with the New Zealand Air Force.
It made for an unusual home situation in which Clarke and his wife rarely saw each other; they were both being posted overseas on a regular basis.
"The kids just thought 'Oh, it's daddy's turn to look after us now' when I got home and their mother went away," says Clarke.
Although essentially the same job, being a paramedic for the helicopter trust is quite different from the Air Force.
"It is a relief to know when you are working in New Zealand that the appropriate treatment for your patient is not far away. In war zones it often isn't the case, and you tend to spend much longer with your patients," he says.
He has had his share of patients dying from their injuries, but tries to move on quickly. "You can't really dwell on those things, or they can affect your ability to do your job."
The trust covers the area from Wellsford south to the bottom of the Coromandel Peninsula and Huntly. Occasionally longer trips are called for, such as the transport of organs to waiting patients in Auckland.
Each crew consists of a pilot, a crewman and one paramedic. The crewman's job is primarily around the safety of the operation, and also includes the operation of the winch.
The realities of attending to patients in a chopper are challenging. There is a lot of noise, vibration, and the effects of altitude. Space is extremely limited, so everything must be highly organised.
Clarke obtains as much information about a job before he goes so he can figure what equipment he will need, and in what order he will need it.
Airborne paramedics tend to see a lot more trauma (injuries) than medical issues, which would be more common for ambulance paramedics.
The 'Thomas Pack' - the kit carried by each paramedic - is extremely compact, and has backpack straps should Clarke have to be lowered by winch to a patient.
Once in the chopper, readings of the patient's vital signs can be sent on ahead to the hospital so that medical staff know what to expect when the helicopter arrives.
There is plenty of paperwork, but it's obvious that the excitement of the job is what motivates the crews. However, there is also a strong emphasis on safety.
If a job is too risky - the wind too strong, the terrain too difficult - the job will be abandoned.
"It's a really tough decision to make, and it's made by consensus with all three of the crew. If one of us is unhappy to proceed, the job is called off. You want to be able to help the person, but you also want to be able to go home at the end of the day," explains Clarke.
There is also a certain fear factor to the job, but Clarke believes that is what keeps the crews safe. "If you're not feeling fear anymore, it is probably time to give up."
The Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust receives no government funding, and is run through the generosity of its sponsors and donations from the public.
"It's not uncommon to have a fishing boat operator giving generously to the trust because they know some day they may need us and are thankful that we are here," says Clarke.
* To support this year's Westpac Chopper Appeal, donate at any Westpac branch, online at www.chopperappeal.co.nz or phone 0900 4 CHOPPER (0900 424 67737) to make a $20 donation.
