Behind the scenes

Students from Birmingham, the Black Country, Staffordshire and Worcestershire spent three days behind the scenes at West Midlands Ambulance Service as part of a work experience placement.

During their first day, the seven students learnt about the role that the Emergency Preparedness Department plays, found out about what Foundation Trust status means to NHS organizations and met up with one of the Trust's very own 'Emergency Bikers'.

The students went along to Dudley Ambulance Station on their second day where they spent the morning with Incident Support Officer, Martin Eaton, who explained the various operational roles and the ins and outs of an ambulance.

Martin Eaton, Black Country Incident Support Officer, said: The students were genuinely very interested in what they saw and asked some very good questions. It's beneficial to educate youngsters on how the service works as it gives them a better appreciation of how to use 999 appropriately. It was nice to have such an enthusiastic group visit the Trust who were all genuinely keen to pursue a future in the NHS."

During their last day the group visited the Trust's Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) base in Oldbury where they met with paramedics who are specially trained to go into collapsed buildings and deal with chemical incidents.