Maria is one of our Trainee Advanced Paramedics. With her team, she provides 24/7 critical care expertise in our Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and on the road, supporting patients that may need enhanced care due to serious illness or following traumatic injuries.
Continuous learning
Originally from Hungary, Maria completed her paramedic degree at the University of Pécs. She moved to the UK soon after and began her career as a Newly Qualified Paramedic (NQP) with East of England Ambulance Service. She has a Master’s degree in Critical Care, and a wealth of experience of working on placement in Urgent Treatment Centres and with GPs.
Maria joined EMAS as a Specialist Practitioner (SP) in 2023, delivering enhanced and urgent care to patients. She progressed to Trainee Advanced Paramedic in 2025.
Reflecting on her career so far, Maria said: “This was the next step for me. My role is split three ways, so there’s constant variety and opportunities to learn: we spend one-third of our time on the Critical Care Desk in the Control Room; one-third on the road responding to critically unwell or injured patients; and the rest of our time involved in teaching, mentoring, leadership schemes.”
“I think it’s brilliant that EMAS has these opportunities for qualified paramedics to continue to advance while also being actively involved in patient care.”
Collaborating to achieve the best patient care
The Critical Care Desk is located in the hub of our service – in the Emergency Control Room, opposite the Incident Command Desk (ICD) and the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) Desk. Between them, the staff on the desks coordinate responses to patients that are seriously unwell or injured.
Maria explains: “We work closely together. We collaborate to make sure the right resources are dispatched to each patient. We pool our skills to make sure patients are getting the response they need.”
“For example, a car may have collided with a building and a person is trapped in the vehicle: as well as arranging an appropriate critical care response for the patient, I’ll inform my colleague on the ICD as it may require lots of our resources, or a multi-agency response from fire and police.”
“In a case where a patient needs specialist care from a doctor, I’ll work with the HEMS Dispatch Officer to coordinate sending a doctor via helicopter. We’ll also dispatch an ambulance crew and possibly other resources. It’s not about sending everyone who’s available – we look at the skills that each person brings to the scene, and how they can contribute to the care of that patient. We’re constantly communicating and thinking about that patient – what care they need now or could need in the next minutes and hours.”
Fast and expert interventions
Maria and her team work on a range of cases. All of the patients have one thing in common – they need expert interventions from multiple people, and fast.
“Earlier today, I was alerted about a child who had suffered extreme burns at home. When we take a 999 call, we only have the information that the caller provides – we can’t physically see the patient to do an full clinical assessment. In cases like children’s burns, it can be difficult to assess the severity of their injury over the phone.”
“To get a better picture, I video called the parent to assess the child’s condition. Based on the video, I saw that she needed specialist care. An ambulance was already on the way to them, but I was able to send a doctor too, who could deliver enhanced pain relief and pre-alert a specialist burns centre.”
“I know my role on the Critical Care Desk made a difference to that child’s care. With this intervention, we provided further support to the crew on scene with a doctor response. Doctors have different ways of administering pain relief for children, and they can set a path for further care if needed. The key is to get the right people to the scene first time, to prevent any future delays in that patient’s care.”
Another example from today includes an open ankle fracture which the caller says is bleeding heavily. Maria uses a video call to assess the injury. Seeing that the ambulance crew is already on their way, Maria also allocates a Specialist Practitioner who is trained to perform limb realignment and deliver advanced pain relief.
Maria explains: “Without fast limb realignment, the patient would continue to lose circulation in their limb. They would be at risk of losing their foot.”
Supporting staff and service resilience
In Maria’s opinion, one of the other benefits of the CCD is supporting service resilience.
“Ambulance staff are trained to deal with distressing situations. But it can take its toll, on even the most experienced. I’ve been there, and I know the impact it can have on your mental health.”
“When we think strategically about the critical care that a patient requires, it means that we aren’t sending lots of people to the scene who aren’t needed. Not only are they available to respond to other patients, it also means that we’re limiting the number of staff on scene who are experiencing that distressing or traumatic situation.”
Providing support to staff on the road is also part of Maria’s job. The CCD is available 24/7 for colleagues to call on their radio for support and advice – that could be discussing the patient’s onward care, or arranging for further support on scene.
Maria explains: “The staff on scene have the best understanding of their patient’s needs. My team is part of the wider picture, available 24/7 to give that additional layer of support if needed. They can call us day or night – we’re here to help.”
