By Katie Davies
The Journal
NEWCASTLE, England — The North East’s first female paramedic is to hang up her uniform after serving the region for more 30 years.
Connie Poore joined what is now the North East Ambulance Service in February 1979, starting at Newcastle’s Benton Road station as an ambulance technician.
But after moving to Rothbury, in Northumberland, she trained as a paramedic in 1990 and became the only female paramedic in the region.
Connie, 55, of Rothbury, said: “It was very male dominated at the time, but I have to say that everyone I worked with at Benton Road was very nice.
“They were all lovely people, and nobody gave me a hard time.
“After being an ambulance person at Benton Road, I then went onto to train as a paramedic. As part of the training, we had to stay over at a centre in Riding Mill and we were only able to go home at weekends.
“It wasn’t too bad as everyone had their own space and everyone just supported each other through the training. I had been around men for 11 years so I was kind of used to it.”
Her career came about almost by chance. Connie said: “I was 24 at the time and was living in a little village called Scots Gap and was unemployed.
“Scots Gap didn’t have an ambulance service and although there was an ambulance car, unfortunately they didn’t have a driver.
“I had grown up with some of the men who were involved with the ambulance service, and they offered me the job. From then I began taking patients to all hospitals in Newcastle.
“I remember coming across people who were driving proper ambulances and I thought I could do that one day.”
In 1990, The Journal covered the story when Connie first began her training to become a paramedic.
The article read: “Connie Poore is the first female from Northumbria Ambulance Service to undertake the service’s paramedic training course. So far, she has passed with flying colours and is blazing a trail which training officers hope other NAS ambulance woman will follow.”
When asked how her days as a paramedic have differed from then, Connie replied: “I think the biggest change I have seen over the years is in the amount of training.
“When I first joined there wasn’t very much and it was pretty basic. Now there’s a lot more expertise, which is a good thing.”
She will officially retire at the end of next month and plans to spend her retirement in Rothbury, where she has worked for 27 years.
“I’m finding it quite hard now to carry the equipment and so I’m looking forward to my retirement,” Connie said.
“I really enjoy hill walking and I plan to do that with my friends. I’ve always been a keen golfer and I am hoping to start playing that again.”
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