Back where she belongs

Julia Barnes is unique among SCAA's paramedics.
For, having left the charity crew after two years for personal career development, she then opted to return, having "missed everything" about the air ambulance role.

"I was working 10 hour shifts at SCAA and driving over an hour at the beginning and end of the day," she explained. "As SCAA was expanding to cover 12 hours per day, it became unsustainable for me so I took on a new role at my old station and settled back into that post."

Leaving SCAA, however, left a helicopter-shaped hole in Julia's life and when an opening came up on the crew two years later, she decided to establish a second home near the Perth base and sign back on.
"Being an aircrew paramedic kind of gets under your skin," she explained. "I really missed working with SCAA and the excitement and fulfilment that goes with the role. I decided if I determined to make the work/life balance work, then I could do it."

Julia rejoined the crew in 2019 and had to play catch up pretty quickly with a whole new team of workmates.

"Some procedures and technical issues had changed, but everything I knew and loved about working with SCAA was still there," said Julia. "The thrill of flying, the expectation of what each day would bring, the knowledge that you are making a positive impact on the lives of people in their darkest hour and the fact that your operational area is the whole of Scotland rather than just a district - it was all still there and I love it. I really can't think of anything else I would want to do."

Julia recalls a mission which sums up why she came back to the aircrew role.
"A man was suffering a serious heart attack on a remote farm in the Argyll countryside and SCAA was tasked to get him to critical cardiac care before it was too late," she said.
"We landed the helicopter close to him and flew him to hospital in under half an hour but it was clear his heart was failing and we were fearful of the outcome.
"When we heard the next day that he was sitting up in bed chatting, I was overwhelmed that he was going to be OK. It really hit home then that what I was doing with SCAA was making a real difference - something I never take for granted as we're so privileged to be there when people need us most."

Julia explained that 2020 brought a whole new set of challenges as the Coronavirus pandemic affected what the crew could do and how they would do it.
"Initially there was new guidance and protocols on an almost daily basis and rules were constantly changing on the use of PPE," she said.

"It's been hugely stressful and challenging because you had to keep this at the forefront of your mind while focussing on the needs of your patient.
"Hidden behind masks, we have to let our eyes be our communicators to reassure and comfort - when anyone in pain or distress just wants a hand to hold."

And Julia has her own target in sight for when Covid restrictions are eased.
"I just want to hug my Mum," she said. "She's in Yorkshire and I haven't seen her since last year. I can't wait to throw my arms around her again."

Julia, who has a BEd in Primary and Outdoor Education and a BSc in Professional Practice, has recently completed a "Teaching Health Care Professionals" module at Glasgow University - the latest advancement in her professional development.
And she has a raft of other skills which she puts to good use as a SCAA volunteer.

"When I first left SCAA, I joined the charity's army of volunteers in order to give something back for all the training and experiences I had enjoyed there," she said. "As a keen photographer, I was happy to supply a steady stream of images of the work the SCAA does and I was also willing to give talks and presentations to groups and organisations.

"I've also taken my turn at driving buggies at major events and doing bucket collections - not to mention a sponsored abseil off the Forth Road Bridge."