From the navy to 999 calls to poetry!

Meet the supervisor making his colleagues cry for the right reasons.

Ryan Flynn is a supervisor in our Liverpool Emergency Control Centre (EOC) – we have three EOCs across the North West and its where all 999 calls are answered. He has been in Team NWAS for just over two years, starting as an emergency medical dispatcher answering 999 calls. It is fair to say it hasn’t been the easiest of introductions to the service for Ryan or anybody else who joined us in the last two years. But in that time, Ryan has handled every type of call imaginable from a cardiac arrest to a birth.

With a background in the Navy, Ryan was unsure about starting life in a desk-based job after being a sea boat coxswain – in his words ‘the jobs are worlds apart.’ He joined our team with an open mind and has never looked back.

“It’s a hands on job in a different way, it is a hard job, there is no two ways about it. There were times where I questioned if I could do it, you have one bad call after another but the support we give each other is phenomenal and it keeps you going. We are all on the same boat, all lived and breathed the same nightmares, and it brings you closer together.

“I can’t explain to you how incredibly busy we have been and amongst that, we have all done a really good job for our patients. I started to write a poem in a break on a night shift and it spiralled.

“More of my colleagues started to read it and feel a connection with it – some of them shedding tears as it brings to life what we do day to day.”

Ryan’s poem now takes prime place in our EOC in Liverpool and is there for staff to read when they need a pickup.

RYAN’S POEM.

Serving the Queen

Facing the screen

Living the dream

Wearing green

Ready to intervene

When the ambos on scene

It’s mainly a fall

That’s no problem at all

Sometimes we’re in tears

We’ve heard it all in our ears

Working together

And being at our best

Making a difference

Getting hands on chest

Most importantly of all

Confirming the address

Calming down callers

In times of distress

Exceptional patient care

That’s how we roll

Not all heroes wear capes

Just headsets in control

Always ready for a shift, focussed and raring Empathetic, dedicated, willing and caring

Our patients are always in the centre of our heart

From the minute we meet until the minute we part

Times are hard and friends are few

But we are Team NWAS and we’re here for you!