Local paramedics facing COVID one day at a time

LEONGATHA paramedic Cameron Rothnie has never let the COVID-19 pandemic get in the way of responding to the community’s needs as demand continues to surge.

Cameron, who has been with Ambulance Victoria for more than a decade, spoke with the Sentinel-Times recently about his journey to Leongatha, and how his career has been shaped by COVID.

Originally based in the outer east of Melbourne, Cameron started his career like most paramedics, undertaking a 12-month graduation program in 2009.

“I was working with a senior paramedic, who guides and encourages your progression to become fully qualified through training and experience,” he said.

“Following that, I was a qualified paramedic and then became a clinical instructor.

“I’ve been fortunate to have had lots of different opportunities throughout my career.”

In 2018, Cameron and his family decided on a lifestyle change and eventually moved to Korumburra.

“I was successful in gaining a position at Korumburra’s branch, and then in late 2019 I was appointed the team manager at Leongatha, During this time,

I’ve filled in a number of more senior roles for the area, including senior team manager, which is the area manager role.

“But currently I’m in a community engagement and liaison coordinator role, which covers the entirety of Gippsland.”

As the pandemic hit, many paramedics were faced with the challenges of managing shift work while balancing family needs.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, our CEO released a video saying it would be a marathon, which it has proven to be,” he said.

“Everything was unknown and things are constantly changing; almost every aspect of our work has changed.”

Cameron said while daunting at first, undergoing pre-shift health checks has become the norm.

“We have to take our temperature and answer a number of questions to see firstly if we’re able to complete the shift, and don’t pose a COVID risk to patients and colleagues,” he said.

“The other aspect is our PPE; that was a real challenge especially during summer.

“Every patient we attended we had to be dressed in gloves, goggles and a full body suit or gown. That’s all really new and we’ve had to be really adaptable.”