Meet the Team

Amy gained her qualification in medicine from St George’s University, London, in 2012, and has since split her time between University Hospital Southampton (UHS) and Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth. Now a qualified Registrar, she can either be found treating patients in the Emergency Department at UHS, or on board the Air Ambulance as part of the HIOWAA Critical Care Team. She is currently studying for an MSc in Extreme Medicine with the University of Exeter and World Extreme Medicine, which includes: Polar Medicine, Mountain Medicine or Humanitarian Medicine. Amy likes to push her skills to the limit, even completing puzzles without looking at the box – including her most recent triumph of a 1000-piece Harry Potter jigsaw.

Amy left college in 2011 after studying Biology, Chemistry, French and Maths. She worked as a Junior Secretary at a charity in Winchester, before starting work at a local zoo. Amy joined South Central Ambulance Service in 2014 working in the PALS department before qualifying as an Emergency Call Taker in June 2015. In January 2017 Amy joined the HEMS team as a HEMS Emergency Dispatch Assistant. She has a keen interest in emergency medicine and hopes to study medicine at university in the coming years.

Ben is a consultant anaesthetist in Salisbury. After beginning his medical training in Bristol, he joined the military, serving with airborne and commando forces around the world for 18 years. He trained in pre-hospital medicine with the Surf Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter in Sydney, Australia and subsequently worked on the Medical Emergency Response Team helicopter in Afghanistan. He joined the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance in 2013.

Chris has worked on the Air Ambulance part-time since 2014. Having previously worked on the HEMS teams in Kent, Surrey and Sussex and in Sydney, Australia, Chris also now works as a Consultant in the Emergency Department at University Hospital Southampton. Chris says, “Working in both the pre-hospital arena and in the Emergency Department of the hospital provides a unique ability to integrate care for critically ill or injured patients.”

As part of the HIOWAA training and education team, Chris is an active voice for continual improvement, and wanting to always challenge how things are done to drive change is important to Chris

Dave joined the Army in 1984. He served first on ceremonial duties and then as a helicopter ground crewman/refueller. In 1988 he attended an Army Pilot Course.
As a pilot he served in various places from the Arctic to the Equator, working as an instructor on both helicopters and aeroplanes. He left the Army in 2006 and joined Bond Air Services.
Dave flew Air Ambulances and Police helicopters for Bond (now Babcock) all over the UK until he joined HIOWAA in October 2015. He is also qualified as a Training Captain, including in night HEMS.

Dave graduated as a paramedic in 2012, taking up a voluntary role on a charity expedition down the Missouri River, before starting with South Central Ambulance Service.
Dave spent five years working in the Hazardous Area Response Team, where he was also deployed to South Sudan as a paramedic for the UN.
Prior to starting with HIOWAA, Dave graduated alongside colleague Lou Wigmore from University of Southampton with a BSc in Clinical Practice.
Outside of work Dave enjoys cycling, climbing, stand up paddle-boarding and making DIY look difficult!

Dr. David Sutton is a Consultant Anaesthetist at University Hospital Southampton and frequently flies with HIOWAA. He was a medical student at Southampton Medical School before taking up various training posts in accident and emergency medicine and anaesthetics. Since being appointed as consultant in Southampton, he has variously specialised in paediatrics, medical management, trauma and now pre-hospital emergency medicine. During his career he has also worked in the media, setting up the TV series “City Hospital” with the BBC in 1998, spent time in Bermuda and flown international air ambulance missions, most notably with Richard Branson in 1990, to rescue Saddam Hussain’s hostages from Baghdad before the first Gulf War. He lives in rural Wiltshire with wife, dogs and cats and has an air ambulance landing site close to the house for emergency pick ups by the Helimed 56. He is now the grizzled veteran of Helimed 56 and claims to be channeling Bruce Willis in Armageddon

Els has been a part-time paramedic with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance since 2011, first as a Medical Passenger and then qualifying as a HEMS Paramedic in 2012. She joined Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service in 2002 and has worked as a Paramedic and Emergency Care Practitioner in South Central Ambulance Service as well as spending a year working for Queensland Ambulance Service in Australia.  She now works full-time as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in the Emergency Department of University Hospital Southampton, alongside many of the HIOWAA HEMS doctors and nurses. Els obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Paramedic Science from the University of Hertfordshire and is now studying for a Doctorate in Clinical Practice at the University of Southampton.

Ewan has been a member of the team since 2008. Pre-hospital medicine is very important to him, and he has been part of providing it in Hampshire since 2004 through the Charity BASICS of which he is currently chairman.
Ewan is also a consultant in Emergency Medicine for Hampshire Hospital Foundation Trust in Winchester and Basingstoke. The father of three is kept busy beyond medicine by his children.

Gordon is a consultant in critical care and anaesthesia at Queen Alexandra Hospital Portsmouth having previously worked in Australia and Baltimore Shock Trauma. Having served with regular and TA airborne units he helped develop the helicopter emergency retrieval system currently used in Afghanistan. He has also worked with an International Red Cross Field Surgical Team covering the Afghan conflict.

Recently appointed as a Consultant Anaesthetist at University Hospital Southampton, Jamie joins HIOWAA’s trainee PHEM programme with a wealth of experience. Currently finishing a higher-degree at the University of Southampton, Jamie has travelled the length and breadth of the country; starting his medical career in Nottingham, going on to work in Cornwall and Wessex. He even spent a year in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he got his first taste of pre-hospital emergency care in 2011-2012.

When he isn’t busy saving lives with HIOWAA or at UHS, Jamie’s three young children keep him busy. When he can find the time, he is hitting the open road cycle racing, and shares his love of mountains and skiing with his family.

Jason moved to Oxford from Devon in 2010 to study Paramedic Emergency Care at Oxford Brookes. After graduating in 2012 he started working with SCAS as a Paramedic based in Oxford, where part of his role was to mentor and develop students. Having always been interested in critical care he was successful in joining HIOWAA in October 2016 as a HEMS Paramedic. Outside of work he enjoys swimming, the coast and attempting to surf.

Jay Turner joined HIOWAA as an Emergency Dispatch Assistant in November 2016. He started his ambulance service career 22 years ago, back in the day when emergency calls were taken and managed by pen and paper.

Over the many years, Jay has worked as an Emergency Call Taker, Emergency Response Co-ordinator/Dispatcher, Trainer for Command and Control Systems, and Critical Systems Support Officer. Jay also dispatched HM56 for the first couple of years when the aircraft initially took to the skies.

Jay is also rock and classical guitarist, who is currently working on his 4th album with his band SirenBlue (the name being just a coincidence!). Whilst the guitar is resting up, Jay can often be found kayaking around the river Hamble, running, including the NHS70 birthday seaside run in Kent, or forever re-landscaping his garden.

John joined the Air Ambulance in 2010 and continues to fly as a part time member of the team, having left this year to join Portsmouth’s emergency department as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP).

He started his paramedic career in the Royal Navy before joining the London Ambulance Service and then moving to Hampshire in 2008, completing his BSc in Paramedic Practice at Portsmouth University. He is now studying towards an MSc at Southampton, and when not working or studying, you’ll find him teaching his two year old daughter to paddleboard- so far, so good, he tells us!

Julian joined HIOWAA in December 2018 to pursue a career in critical care.
After qualifying from Monash University as a Paramedic in 2014, he moved from Australia to London to work for the London Ambulance Service. Working in Westminster Julian gained a large amount of experience, including developing and mentoring international paramedics and paramedic students, as well as providing further support to colleagues in the role of international liaison.
In Julian’s spare time he enjoys travelling and surfing. He is also hoping that this year the ashes will be brought home.

As well as working for HIOWAA as a pre-hospital doctor, Liz Shewry is an anaesthetist at University Hospital Southampton (UHS), specialising in patients with Major trauma. After studying medicine in Cardiff Liz went to work in Perth, Western Australia. On her return Liz worked in South Wales but missed the beach and hence moved down to Dorset to study anaesthetics. In 2010 she moved to Sydney, Australia to train in pre-hospital medicine and enjoyed working there so much she stayed for an extra year. She’s been with HIOWAA since her return in 2012 and is excited by all the great changes to the service over the past few years.

Liz is interested in education and training and is part of the HIOWAA training group, helping to develop the new base training suite and pre-hospital training for junior doctors, starting in August. At UHS, when not looking after patients, she also works in education in major trauma and training using simulation technology to improve patient care. She has an interest in global health and regularly runs training courses in West Africa. She enjoys music, travelling and being outdoors (especially if it’s sunny).

Specialises in Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine and Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM).
Based in Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where she is the current Clinical Director of Unscheduled Care. Has flown with HIOWAA since 2005. Previously worked in London with the Physician Response Unit and London HEMS.
Strong education interest – is the PHEM training program director for Wessex HEE, examiner for the DIMC held at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and HIOWAA medical training lead.

Enthusiastic runner, expert shopper, chocolate connoisseur, will sleep when she is dead.

Louise joined Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service in 2000 as an Ambulance Technician and was based at Newbury and Reading, qualifying as a Paramedic in 2005. She completed a year-long secondment  as an Advanced Care Paramedic in Australia for Queensland Ambulance Service in 2008. She  returned to Reading for a short while before becoming part of the newly formed Hazardous Area Response Team within South Central Ambulance  Service in 2011, up until joining Hampshire ad Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

Louise is currently studying part-time at the University of Southampton for a BSc in Clinical Practice.

Away from work she participates in many sports, but especially enjoys white water kayaking, cycling and surfing.

Lucy started training with the ambulance service in 2012, whilst studying Paramedic Emergency Care at Oxford Brookes University. Having qualified as a paramedic, Lucy joined South Central Ambulance Service where she undertook further training to allow her to work as a Specialist Paramedic in Berkshire. Lucy also teaches Paramedic students at Oxford Brookes University, and is an instructor for the Resuscitation Council around the UK.

Outside of work, she has a keen interest in sustainable living and cycling and she regularly practices yoga.

Marcus joined the RAF from university in 1991.  Having completed pilot training, he spent 9 years flying the Chinook helicopter on operations and exercises worldwide.  After leaving the RAF in 2005, he was a director of a commercial aviation company for 10 years, while continuing to fly as both a rotary and fixed-wing commercial pilot.  In 2015 Marcus joined Bond Air Services as a HEMS pilot, initially flying at various HEMS locations around the UK, before joining the HIOWAA team permanently in November 2015.

Matt is a senior registrar in anaesthesia based at University Hospital Southampton and started training in pre-hosptial medicine in August 2017. Matt has completed most of his training in Bristol and spent time working in Western Australia. He moved into the region specifically to work with HIOWAA.

Matt spends his time away from work with his wife and two children and enjoys mountain biking, kite-surfing and skiing.

Mike joined our HEMS team in June 2015, having begun his career as a student Paramedic with East of England Ambulance Service in 2007. He  qualified as a Paramedic in 2010, joining South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust in 2011 and going on to become a Clinical Mentor to one of the teams at Bletchley Ambulance Station.  Throughout this time he provided clinical support to a wide variety of staff members and helped develop and build the practices of a number of students.  He is the father to two young boys, and prior to joining the Ambulance Service, he completed a BSc (Hons) degree in Sport and Exercise Science.

Nicola moved to Hampshire from Somerset and Joined the Ambulance Service in 2000 as an Ambulance Technician. She qualified as a paramedic in 2004, later studying Emergency Care Practice at Portsmouth University and graduating in 2009. Since then she has worked in North Hampshire in various roles, including Clinical Mentor, Team Leader and more recently finished a secondment as Emergency Services Manager, thoroughly enjoying the experiences and challenges each role offered. She first flew with Helimed 56 as a paramedic in 2010 and since then has had a keen interest in joining the team. She has also been proud to represent the crew and attended charity events with the last being the Great South Run in 2015. In her spare time she enjoys being outdoors, walking and running with her two little dogs who are great training buddies and will be completing some more exciting challenges for the charity this year.

Nigel joined Dorset Ambulance Service in 2004 as a technician and qualified as a Paramedic in 2007 in the South West region. He then progressed to become a Specialist Practitioner in 2010 and worked within the Emergency and Urgent Care sector, whilst lecturing in Paramedic Science at various universities in the country.

During his time with South Central Ambulance Service as Education Manager he was seconded to HIOWAA to assist the HEMS operations Desk and as Medical Passenger. He enjoyed the experience with the team so much that he decided to join the team permanently and begin his HEMS Paramedic pathway in 2018.

Nigel enjoys spending time with his wife and two girls, running, swimming and road cycling.

Oliver joined the HIOWAA Critical Care Team in October 2016. He started his career with the London Ambulance Service in 2009 as a Student Paramedic, qualifying in 2012. He moved to the Peak District in 2013 to work in Manchester (and cycle/rock climb more!) and joined the Hazardous Area Response Team in 2014 – this included regular major incident training, managing patients in dangerous environments and operational ambulance and response car shifts. He has a Postgraduate Certificate in Prehospital Critical Care and despite not being willing to admit it, quite likes studying. Away from work he spends his time rock climbing, cycling, planning his next ski trip, watching rugby and avoiding housework. He is married with three pairs of skis and two bikes.

Pat has had a varied career working for the Ambulance service. He joined the service an Ambulance Technician in 1997 and started his training in Bromley. On completion of his basic training he was posted to Brixton Ambulance station, where he stayed for the next 3 years. Much of his experience was gained here. In 2001 he took up a position with London Ambulance Service and qualified as an IHCD state registered Paramedic in 2003. During this time he enjoyed two years of patrolling the west end of London responding to 999 calls. From 2006 – 2007 he served as a Paramedic for Yorkshire Ambulance station, in a small town called Kirkbymoorside in the Yorkshire Moors. He began working for HIOWAA in 2007. He is married and a father of two young boys.

Charles founded the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance charity in 2005 and was the first Chief Executive and Chairman, until standing down in 2007 to concentrate on the clinical aspects of the service.He is Divisional Medical Director for South Central Ambulance Service and a consultant in cardiac anaesthesia and intensive care at University Hospital Southampton. His main academic interests relate to major trauma and cardiac arrest, and he is Honorary Professor of Resuscitation and Prehospital Emergency Medicine at Southampton University.

Rob is a senior registrar in Emergency Medicine at Southampton General Hospital and started training in Pre Hospital Emergency Medicine with HIOWAA in August 2017. Since qualifying from medical school in 2004 in Cardiff, Rob has worked in South Wales, The South coast of England, South Africa and Rwanda. He is the father of 3 little girls and enjoys running and cycling with his most extreme bike ride being from South Africa to the UK!

Simon is a Consultant Anaesthetist. He spent sixteen years with the RAF and has been working in helicopter prehospital care since 2006 including in Afghanistan (RAF), Australia (Careflight) and in the UK first with Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance and with the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance since 2012. Away from work he is married with two children and when time allows he loves skiing and flying light aircraft as a private pilot.

I began my training with South Central Ambulance Service in 2010 and since qualifying as a Paramedic and have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of frontline work whilst being based at both Alton and Petersfield. In this time I have gained my degree and completed a three month secondment on HIOWAA’s dispatch desk which really help me understand the challenges the team can face.
When not at work, I enjoy scuba diving, cooking spicy food and running.

Stian qualified as a Paramedic in Norway in 2013, having served as a conscripted combat medical technician with the Royal Norwegian Air Force and trained in civilian pre hospital care. Having continued his studies and worked ad hoc around the country, involved in both urban and remote pre hospital care, he wanted to chase an undergraduate degree and decided on the UK. Graduating in 2017 after working for South Central Ambulance Service, he started training towards becoming a Specialist Paramedic in Urgent Care at the beginning of 2018. Having always been interested in critical care, search and rescue and specialist medical operations with HEMS in the centre of his crosshairs, he followed his heart and joined HIOWAA at the end of 2018.

Passionate about travelling and SCUBA-diving, Stian also enjoys mountain biking and rock climbing. He swears hand down that Santa Claus is Norwegian, and that continental free-roaming polar bears are a myth.

Thomas began working for the ambulance service in Hampshire in 2008. He is from Hampshire originally, and has mainly worked in the north of the county as a graduate Paramedic, Clinical Mentor and Team Leader. He is currently studying at university towards qualification as a practitioner, whilst working on the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance as a HEMS Paramedic.