South Central Ambulance Service: Mums and daughters saving lives
Among the dedicated staff answering and responding to 999 ambulance calls, there are two mothers and daughters for whom it is a "family business".Ahead of Mother's Day, two mother-daughter duos who work together saving lives with South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) have been speaking to the BBC.For paramedic Kayleigh Ramsey, working together with her mum Sue has brought them closer.While emergency care assistant Kaleigh said having her mum with her as she drove an ambulance was a moment to remember.
'Really surprised'
Hannah Frampton and her mum, Sue, have been working together in SCAS since Hannah joined the service 18 years ago as an emergency call taker.Since then she has worked her way up to become a paramedic. "No day is ever the same, and you can be with people in their hardest moments. If you can make that slightly better for them, that's an honour really," said Hannah.
But mum Sue - a trainer and recruiter - admitted that she initially thought her daughter was "squeamish" and did not expect her to have a career in the ambulance service."So when she said she was going to be a paramedic, I was really surprised - but she's done fantastic," she said. They both said they felt lucky to have someone who understands the demands of their job and that working together had brought them closer. "Some people don't want to hear about our job, it's not for everyone," said Hannah. "It is nice to have someone I can discuss it with; I can't always talk to my friends, but I can talk to my mum."
'My absolute best friend'
Kayleigh Ramsey and her mum, Debbie, had worked together in the care sector before either of them joined the ambulance service. And in their case, it was actually Kayleigh who encouraged her mum to apply."She would always say to me - 'I wish I could do what you do'," she said.With Kayleigh helping her practice for her interviews, Debbie eventually got a job as a call taker - even going on a few observation shifts with Kayleigh in the ambulance. "One thing I never thought I'd have - I'm driving to a job on blue lights and my mum is sat in the passenger seat with me," said Kayleigh.
On occasions, their working lives have overlapped without them even realising it. Debbie recalled being on a night shift taking emergency calls - noting the details of a traffic accident, not knowing that Kayleigh was at the scene. "It got to the end of the call, and I said: 'can I take your name?', said Debbie. "And she said - oh, it's Kayleigh!"They said they are each other's first port of call for support when things get difficult. "If I'm feeling upset, the first person I call is Kayleigh - and the same for her," said Debbie."My mum's my absolute best friend, and I think working together definitely brings us much closer," said Kayleigh.
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