Paramedic Cameron Powell.
They’ve done it again.
For the past seven years the state’s paramedics have been named the nation’s most trusted profession in the Australian Reader’s Digest annual Trust Survey and 2012 is no exception.
“People call us in their hour of need and we see them at their most vulnerable and in their worst state and we are there to help them out,” Maitland intensive care paramedic Cameron Powell, 35, said.
“And as a paramedic it’s good to be able to make an impact on someone, whether it’s to save a life or take away someone’s pain and reassure them. But also the people you work with make the career what it is.”
Ambulance Service of NSW chief executive Commissioner Mike Willis said the annual poll reflects the commitment paramedics show in their profession every day as they provide quality care for the people of NSW.
“Our frontline paramedics are invited into people’s lives, often in stressful and challenging situations. It’s the respect and trust the community has for them, which allow them to perform these duties and they deserve every bit of recognition they receive,” Mr Willis said.
The survey has also named Sydney neurosurgeon Charlie Teo as Australia’s Most Trusted Person.
Dr Teo extended the life of Maitland woman Tania Birss after she was diagnosed with multiple brain tumours.
Sadly, Mrs Birss died last year.
According to survey respondents Dr Teo is inspirational, a great role model and, above all, devoted to his patients.