GLOUCESTER ambulance station has a new station officer.
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Chris Rose emigrated from the UK in 2008 after a recruitment drive by the NSW Ambulance Service to hire British paramedics.
He spent a year in Sydney before moving to Newcastle where he served as an intensive care paramedic.
The role included providing support to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
“I’d flown up here a couple of times with the chopper so I was reasonably familiar with the area,” Mr Rose said.
Mr Rose arrived in Gloucester in late January after accepting the station officer’s position.
He said the first week had been a busy one, with a fatal truck crash on the Thunderbolts Way last Wednesday.
“In 20 years in doing the job, it’s one of the hardest jobs I’ve done,” he said.
Mr Rose said he was looking forward to the change from Newcastle to Gloucester.
“People genuinely appreciate what it is we’re here for in the regional areas,” he said.
“They don’t abuse the service, which seems to be fairly common in the larger urban centres.”
Mr Rose said the Gloucester station was now back to its full complement of five paramedics, with a new roster to be introduced later in the year.
“At the moment we’re manning the station eight hours a day and we’re on-call for the remainder,” he said.
“We’re shifting to 10 to 11 hour shifts, which will give us more days off but mean we’re here for longer during the day.”