QAS INSIGHT | Summer 2017-18 edition

Q uiet A chiever’s S tory: Neil Hobbs

For 40 years Neil Hobbs has been attending to people in their time of need – but in January 2016 the veteran paramedic found himself experiencing his own medical emergency: one that almost claimed his life. “I had acute pulmonary oedema. There were no previous symptoms, I just went to bed around midnight and five minutes later I was struggling to breathe,’’ Neil said. “When I started getting the crackles in my lungs, I knew I was in trouble but I also knew that if I panicked it could get worse, so I made myself stay calm.” As Neil’s lungs were beginning to fill with fluid, his wife Joanne called Triple Zero (000). Despite being in distress, Neil can now laugh as he recalls how he ‘kept taking the phone off his wife to explain medical terms to the Emergency Medical Dispatcher …’ Amazingly, when the crew responded to the call, it was a former student Neil had mentored who was one of the first paramedics on scene. “I just kept on apologising to her … At the same time it was very rewarding to know that I was in such good hands,” he laughed. Neil was given aspirin, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) and Continuous Positive Airways Pressure (CPAP) and, by the time the ambulance arrived at Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH), he was starting to talk in sentences and was improving. But this was just the beginning of his medical ordeal. He spent three months waiting for the doctors at the PAH to let him have a quadruple bypass. The reason for the lengthy wait was because there were concerns he would not survive the operation. Fast forward almost two years and Neil, an ACP2 at Wynnum Station, said he is well on the road to recovery and making the most of every day. “I’m back on the road – mostly as a third officer – but in 2018 I am hoping to be back to normal duties.” Neil said his near-death experience has changed the way he cares for his patients.

“Experiencing my own medical emergency has made me even more aware of how patients might be feeling when they come into our care,’’ he said. “Now I find myself explaining things much more simply and I am very direct with them. I appreciate how stressful it can be when you are facing a life and death situation.’’

Above ■ Prophetic words indeed in this 1990 newspaper clipping. Above right ■ Vintage ID card from 21 years ago – at the halfway mark of Neil’s QAS career. Right ■ When it all began: Neil’s initial qualification in October 1977.

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The former driving instructor, who derives great joy from making people laugh with his funny jokes and sense of humour, is celebrating a four-decade paramedical career which has seen many changes to industry practices. Neil signed up to be a Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade (QATB) officer after hearing a radio advertisement and thinking he ‘could do with a less stressful job …’ He started his career with QATB on October 31, 1977 after ‘having gone through the rigorous ordeal’ of achieving his first aid and home nursing certificates. “It took me a whole month to do that and I had to get to Medallion level with my First Aid in 12 months; I really felt the pressure to achieve that level,” he said.

Above ■ February 7, 1983: Stage 1 course (Neil in centre). Below ■ March 31, 1989: Coronary Care course (Neil 2nd left, back row).

Summer 2017–18