EAAA - Meet Dr Jo Stevens

East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) – Meet Dr Jo Stevens

EAAA is still responding to emergencies and providing critical care 24/7 in the region, as well as supporting hospitals with critical care transfers to help manage capacity in intensive care units during the pandemic. In December, EAAA hit a significant milestone of being tasked 30,000 times since the charity was started, 20 years ago. Although not something to celebrate, as it marks 30,000 times someone’s life has been in danger, and the EAAA teams have been needed, it shows what a significant impact the charity is having on critical care across East Anglia. For this issue of The Villager, we got to know one of the life-saving team, Dr Jo Stevens.

How long have you been with EAAA and what do you like most about it?

I’ve been with EAAA since February 2020, so coming up for a year now. It has certainly been an interesting introduction to the Helicopter Emergency Medicine Service (HEMS) during the Covid-19 pandemic! But one of the highlights of working for EAAA is working alongside a brilliant and dedicated team, who have, over the last year, taken on the roles of teachers, friends and fellow tea-drinkers. I’m so grateful for the support I’ve received from the crew and pilots as I’ve learnt to do this job during these challenging times. When I’m not working at EAAA I’m a trainee in Emergency Medicine at West Suffolk Hospital.

What do you do in your spare time?

I like being outdoors. The garden is my solace and gives me a chance to be creative and enjoy watching things slowly change, which is a lovely change from this fast-paced job. My husband and I like to camp and have an old 4x4 with roof-top tent that we can happily live out of for weeks at a time (as long as there’s a decent supply of wine).

What’s your favourite part of being a doctor?

I once had a lady in her 90s sing to me at 5am in her room in a very busy Emergency Department. It was a minute of peace during a difficult shift. Every so often you are privileged to get an amazing insight into the person you’re treating, and you remember that we’re hopefully a very temporary part of their life, and that our job is to get them back to it. You can support EAAA by donating online, playing in its weekly lottery from just £1 per play or deciding to leave the charity a gift in your Will. For more info, go online to www.eaaa.org.uk or call 03450 669 999 to speak to one of the team about how you could help keep the yellow EAAA helicopters flying.

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Would you or any of your family/friends

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The ExtraCare Charitable Trust has thousands of volunteers who play an invaluable part within the organisation; they make a real difference by sharing their skills/knowledge and offering their kind support.

We have a wide variety of volunteering opportunities:

• Bistro/Coffee Bar/Kitchen Assistant • Fitness/Gym Assistant • Receptionist • Gardening Club • Shop Assistant – covering the till in our small on-site shop • Wellbeing/Enriched Opportunities Programme volunteer • Maintenance Team - practical tasks/admin (Supporting residents living with dementia & other • Befriender (age 18+) - supporting other residents mental health conditions) • Bar Assistant

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If you would like to volunteer or have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me Paula McCready (Volunteer Co-ordinator) Telephone: 01234 981000 or Email: paula.mccready@extracare.org.uk Core Hours: part-time, Mon-Wed 8.30am-3.30pm (Flexible, subject to change) Wixams Retirement Village, Bedford Road, Wixams, MK42 6EA