Frontline paramedic - "people are waiting 10 hours for an ambulance"

Available for over a year

Blair Paul qualified as a paramedic during the first six months of the Covid pandemic, which means, as he puts it, he's "seen things that I wouldn't ordinarily have seen". His workload is relentless and the "new normal" involves seeing younger, sicker patients who haven't been able to access any other treatment due to the intense pressure on the NHS. Blair says he loves his job despite its difficulties. But he worries about the people he says are waiting nine or 10 hours for an ambulance. They're low priority calls, he says, but they wait so long, they can become seriously ill. He also says he sometimes spends hours outside emergency departments waiting for beds to become free. The medical turmoil doesn't stop when he finishes his shift either. Six months ago his partner Kayleigh, an A&E nurse, gave birth to their daughter, Erin. She was born with heart complications and spent three months in paediatric intensive care. Despite all this, Blair remains upbeat about both his job and home life. For 5 Minutes on, he talks to BBC Scotland's health correspondent, Lisa Summers. He tells her he wants to be a role model for his daughter - and says, "If I can walk away at the end of my shift and feel that someone's life is better because I've helped, then I can go home happy". Image Credit: BBC News