International Paramedics Day 2024
8 July 2024
CEO of Ambulance and Rescue Guernsey, Mark Mapp has shared his message to staff on International Paramedics Day!
“I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of you for the incredible work you do daily. Your achievements and dedication make us all proud.
This year’s theme is “The Difference We Make,” and it perfectly reflects the impact we all have together. As the saying goes, behind every good paramedic lies an EMT, ECA, ACA, and a wider team. This includes our colleagues in payroll, HR, maintenance, and the mechanics who keep our ambulances running. Without your support, we couldn’t do what we do.
Today, we celebrate not just paramedics but everyone who contributes to our mission, including our dedicated volunteers like the Marine Ambulance crew, Ambulance Reserve and Community First Responders. Your dedication and teamwork make a world of difference.
The paramedic profession has made significant progress in the past 25 years, and I know this progress will continue. Nevertheless, today, we should focus on and acknowledge paramedics’ incredible work and dedication to instigating positive change within their workplaces, universities, medical centres, and communities. In all that we do, we uphold our core values of caring, honesty, compassion, and excellence. These values guide us and ensure we continue to impact the lives we touch every day positively.
I’m sure you will join me in saying Happy Paramedic Day to our colleagues.”
International Paramedics Day is held on 8th July and is hosted by the UK’s College of Paramedics to honour the dedication and impact of paramedics, first responders and community volunteers around the world.
Chief Executive of the College of Paramedics, Tracy Nicholls OBE said: “Every day, paramedics, first responders and community volunteers make a difference to their patients’ lives with the care, compassion and clinical capability they demonstrate.
“But the difference our profession makes across the globe is not solely confined to the vital care and treatment we provide. In clinical practice, research, education and leadership, paramedics and their healthcare organisations are driving forward the development of our profession, both here in the UK and internationally for the betterment of treatment strategies, patient outcomes, colleagues’ health and wellbeing, continued learning and our next generation of clinicians. For these reasons and more, let us all come together on July 8 and proudly tell the world the difference we make and the positive impact we have.”
International Paramedics Day was first organised by the College of Paramedics in 2022 in response to the tremendous personal sacrifices and life-saving efforts made by all those working in pre-hospital emergency care during the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. The day is celebrated every year on July 8 because this marks the anniversary of the birth of Dominique Jean Larrey, the French military doctor who became Napoleon Bonaparte’s chief surgeon of the Grand Armee and the man often referred to as the ‘father of modern-day ambulance services’.
