Meet Laurie Phillipson, Critical Care Paramedic & Academic Lead

At Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, our crew never take a day off – not even at Christmas. While many of us are celebrating with family, our critical care teams are on call, ready to respond to life-threatening emergencies across Essex and Hertfordshire. This Christmas, as part of our Fund 100 campaign, we spoke to Laurie Phillipson, one of our critical care paramedics and clinical academic lead, about life on the helicopter, working over the festive period, and what it means to be part of EHAAT’s mission.

Can you introduce yourself?
I’m Laurie Phillipson. I’m a critical care paramedic for Essex & Herts Air Ambulance and also the clinical academic fellow. I’ve been with EHAAT for 23 years.

What inspired you to join the HEMS team?
I always wanted to join the helicopter team because they were reserved for patients who needed the most advanced critical care. All my training had led me towards delivering fast-paced, meaningful interventions for patients where our care can sometimes make the difference between life and death.

What do you enjoy most about working at EHAAT?
We’re incredibly patient-focused. If we want to bring in new innovations or make changes, we can do it quickly. We’re a small team, always pushing forward to improve patient care. From clinicians to the unsung heroes behind the scenes raising funds, everyone is focused on delivering the best care to the patient in front of us.

How do you prepare yourself for what you might face at the scene?
We never know what we’re going to attend. I like to keep an open mind – sometimes it’s better to just go and respond without knowing anything. Scenes can be challenging, whether from a patient perspective, the environment, or multiple patients. I also make sure I’ve eaten! I’m constantly eating on shift so that when the bell goes, we’re ready to deal with whatever comes our way.

How important is the training at EHAAT?
Training is vital. We have “critical care passports” for rare but intense cases that require advanced skills. Even over Christmas, there’s no time to just put our feet up – we train to make sure we’re ready for any patient that needs us.

How important is teamwork for a HEMS crew?
We’re a very close team, which is natural when you deal with intense situations together. You support each other through that, and you do build a close bond. That bond even shows up at Christmas – if we get the chance, we help our pilot, Ian Mills, prepare a crew Christmas dinner together.

How does it feel to work over Christmas?
It’s difficult to be away from family on such an important day. My wife also works in the NHS, so often one of us is on duty. We’ve had some Christmases together, but it’s always a bit tricky. I remember one year we celebrated on Christmas Eve with the children, and that worked fine. It’s something all emergency services staff accept as part of the job.

Is there a particular Christmas shift that has stayed with you?
Some cases over Christmas involving serious illness or injury can be very difficult, given it’s a time for family celebration. They stay with me, but I’m glad we’re able to offer the service. We’re a 365-day service, and that commitment includes Christmas Day.

What does it mean to you to be part of our Christmas campaign?
It’s an honour to be part of a campaign supporting the air ambulance at Christmas. Over the years, I’ve felt the support from people across Essex and Hertfordshire, and being able to share our story during this festive season is very special.

Your donation this Christmas can help fund 100 missions.
Together, we can make sure our teams are there for every patient who needs them.
Donate now to the Fund 100 Christmas Appeal

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