Executive Biographies

Chair: Dr Pamela Hardy

• Dr Pam Hardy is Lead Consultant in Emergency Care at Dr Gray’s Hospital, Elgin, where she established a consultant-led service in Scotland’s smallest District General Hospital. She also works as a Retrieval Consultant for the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (North) covering the islands and highlands of Scotland in both a primary and secondary retrieval role.
• She is a graduate of Sheffield University, trained in in paediatrics and emergency medicine, and has worked as an emergency medicine and HEMS consultant in the East Midlands before moving to the “Far North of Scotland” 10 years ago.
• A founder member of the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, she has held roles as Chair of the regional groups, elected member of the executive committee and Co-vice Chair.

• Pam holds the Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care and is a member of the Faculty of Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, as an examiner for the DipIMC and FIMC examinations and is a member of the Pre-hospital Examinations Advisory Board

• She has represented FPHC and RCPCH on the Intercollegiate Board for Training in Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine since its inception in 2009.
• Pam is a member of BASICS Scotland, and has previously received a BASICS Award, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and a Chief Constable’s Commendation for her work in pre-hospital care.
• Pam now loves living in rural Scotland and spending her time off hill walking, running on the beach, cycling in the Outer Hebrides and being at sea, visiting the Scottish Islands.

Secretary : Dr Andy Smith

• He holds the Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. A Yorkshire Ambulance BASICS doctor, examiner for Dip IMC and FIMC, Educational Chair for the Yorkshire Branch of the Faculty of Pre Hospital Care and FPHC Crowd Doctors Course Director.
• He holds the Diploma, Masters and Fellowship of Sports & Exercise Medicine being the Field of Play Clinical/Immediate Care Lead at Twickenham Stadium, RFU England Counties Doctor and Yorkshire County Doctor. Previous 12 years experience medical care for club rugby.
• He has been the Immediate Care Lead for the Rugby World Cup England 2015, Junior World Championship Manchester 2016 and the Women's World Cup 2010. Also was field of play team leader for the London 2012 Olympics and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
• He is the programme director of the RFU Immediate Care in Sport Course, WRU Immediate Care in Rugby and Technical Director and Senior Medical Educator for World Rugby Immediate Care in Rugby being a member of the immediate Pitch Side working Group. He is the clinical governance advisor to Premiership Rugby. 

Doctor Co-Vice Chair: Dr Andy Pountney

• Consultant in Emergency Medicine in Yorkshire
• Medical Governance Lead and Medical Incident Commander, Yorkshire Ambulance Service
• Vice Chair, British Association for Immediate Care
• Chair, Yorkshire Regional Group, Faculty of Pre Hospital Care
• Chair, Lead Consultant and Immediate Care Doctor, West Yorkshire Medic Response Team
• Lead Consultant and HEMS Doctor, Yorkshire Critical Care Team (with Yorkshire Air Ambulance)
• Governance Lead and Immediate Care Doctor, YAS BASICS Immediate Care Scheme
• Andy holds the Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care through examination and is on the FPHC Register of Consultant (Level 8) Practitioners.
• He is a regular examiner at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Immediate Care Exams, usually focusing on the Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care. 
• Andy has previously received a BASICS Award, the Myles Gibson Award (Yorkshire Group) and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has also been appointed Member of the Venerable Order of St John.

Non-Doctor Co-Vice Chair: Chris Shaw

• Clinical Nurse Specialist in Pre Hospital Emergency Medicine.
• Professional background is in acute-sector healthcare.
• Experience in specialty roles within the public, private and third sectors; spanning emergency medicine, critical care, prehospital and retrieval medicine, resuscitation practice, public health, research, clinical education and high-fidelity simulation.
• Primary area of clinical interest is prehospital emergency medicine.
• Diverse range of operational experience across [helicopter] emergency medical services, lowland search & rescue, maritime/offshore, industrial sites and event & mass gathering medicine settings; with specific experience across incident command and delivery of clinical care in less permissive environments (confined spaces, work at height, and remote settings with prolonged extrication & transport times).
• Critical Care Practitioner, EMRTS Cymru
• Immediate Care Practitioner, Medserve Wales
• Clinical Support Member, West Midlands CARE Team
• Assistant Medical Director, Association of Lowland Search and Rescue
• All Wales PHEM Specialty Training Committee Member
• Examiner, Diploma & Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tochrisshaw
• Twitter: @ChrisShaw

Treasurer: Dr Peter Holden

• Senior Partner in a rural teaching and training general practice associated with the University of Nottingham
• Holds the Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh(2001)  Dip IMC 1991
• East Midlands Ambulance Service Strategic Medical Advisor providing remote supervision
• A trained major incident commander with real experience of big bang – Tavistock Square bus bombing, Hillsborough Football Stadium disaster, and rising tide incident-Pandemic Influenza in 2009
• Primary care Member of EPRR
• East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme, currently a responding Physician and Trustee
• 21 years HEMS doctor with Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance and MAGPAS Air Ambulance retiring from the flight line in 2018
• MAGPAS Air Ambulance Trustee with responsibility for Clinical Governance oversight
• RCGP representative on the Intercollegiate Board for Training in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine and its current Chair
• Founder member of the Faculty of PreHospital Care
• Involved in PreHospital Care since 1983, helped author develop and run the original PHEC Course and other BASICS Courses
• Contributing Author BMA Board of Science Report: Immediate Care Schemes
• Vice President BASICS
• Recipient of The BASICS Award, The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee Medals in respect of his service on the Air Ambulances and a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Association of Air Ambulances

Patron: Professor Myles Gibson OBE

• He laid the foundation of Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine as a medical sub-speciality through the creation of the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care in 1996 based on all the work he did in the previous 10 years to develop the idea. He was the first Chairman of the Faculty and held the post for 6 years
• OBE in 1992
• Has been heavily involved in developing the medical structure of the Football League
• He helped to create the Glasgow Coma Scale
• In 1991 he received the BASICS award and in 1995 he received the The Asmund S Laerdal Award
• He is still actively involved in the ‘Save a limb Save a Life’ Project internationally

Patron: Professor Sir Keith Porter 

• Consultant and Professor of Clinical Traumatology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham working closely with Military patients transferred to the hospital
• He was knighted in 2010 for his work coordinating trauma care for British troops injured in Afghanistan
• Past Chairman of the Faculty of Pre-Hospital care for six year
• He has been involved in Pre-Hospital Care from 1989 and he was a founder of the Central Accident Resuscitation Emergency (CARE) Team in the West Midlands
• He holds the Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care and is a past examiner
• He has been Chairman of the Research Committee within the Faculty, Convenor for the Diploma in Immediate Medical Care examination and has held appointments within the College Committee infrastructure. 
• He was the Chairman of the Intercollegiate Board for Training in Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine.
• He has been involved in the establishment of a Regional Faculty Infrastructure as well as a successful training program for Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine. 
• He is committed to developing and promoting the roles of non-medical practitioners to include nurses, paramedics, rescue service workers as well as first aiders.

Chair of Training and Standards Committee: Dr David Bruce

• Ex RAF Medical Officer involved in BASICS and pre-hospital care since 1990
• RAF Adviser in pre-hospital care 1993 – 2014
• Deployed to Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world
• Chair of the military Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) Steering Cttee
• Taught in Ecuador and Jordan
• Quality assurance activity on operations and overseas military bases
• Diploma in Immediate Care 1992; Fellowship in Immediate Care 2001
• Diploma in the Medical Care of Catastrophes (DMCC) Examiner
• MBE 1993; OBE 2015

Chair of Clinical Standards Committee: Mr Andy Thurgood

• Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Emergency Medicine
• Deputy Clinical Director - West Midlands CARE Team
• Immediate care practitioner - Hereford & Worcester BASICS scheme - MARS
• Medical Director - West Midlands Fire Service
• Chair of Clinical Standards Committee - FPHC
• Crowd Medical Officer Birmingham City Football Club and Alexander Athletics Stadium Birmingham, 
• Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care RCSEd (Awarded without examination)
• Examiner for the Diploma & Fellowship of Immediate Medical Care and the new Diploma in Urgent Medical Care
• FPHC Examinations Standard Setting Group 
• Andy was one of the first non-doctors to join the FPHC and is committed multi-disciplinary PHEM
• Author D13 module for police officers in specialist role, FPOS (basic/intermediate), Author - core material FPHC
• Co-founder and trustee of citizenAID charity
• Trustee of Trauma Care

Chair of PHC Examinations Committee: Dr Laura Bland

• Dr Laura Bland is a consultant in Emergency Medicine at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and a critical care doctor with Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

• Laura completed her PHEM sub-speciality training with EMRTS in Wales in 2018 following successful completion of emergency medicine training in Wessex. She qualified from the University of Bristol before returning to London for foundation and core training.

• Laura holds the Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care by examination and has been an active examiner since passing in 2018. She is an educational supervisor for PHEM trainees in the Severn deanery.

• In September 2022, Laura took over as convenor of examinations for the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care and chair of the assessments committee. Prior to this she represented the FPHC on the Intercollegiate Board for Training in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine.

International Development Lead: Dr David Bruce

• Ex RAF Medical Officer involved in BASICS and pre-hospital care since 1990
• RAF Adviser in pre-hospital care 1993 – 2014
• Deployed to Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world
• Chair of the military Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) Steering Cttee
• Taught in Ecuador and Jordan
• Quality assurance activity on operations and overseas military bases
• Diploma in Immediate Care 1992; Fellowship in Immediate Care 2001
• Diploma in the Medical Care of Catastrophes (DMCC) Examiner
• MBE 1993; OBE 2015

Elected Doctor Representative: Dr Caroline Leech

• Consultant in Emergency Medicine at University Hospital Coventry 
• Deputy Clinical Lead & HEMS Doctor with The Air Ambulance Service
• Associate Editor of Emergency Medicine Journal
• Fellowship of Immediate Medical Care by Examination
• Examiner for the Diploma and Fellowship of Immediate Medical Care, RCSEd
• Caroline is committed to providing multi-disciplinary education and collaborative patient care in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine

Elected Paramedic Representative: Mr Andy Smith

• Andy Smith joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1985 and left in 2019. 

• He has completed 5 tours as a paramedic on the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) on OP HERRICK (Afghanistan) from 2008 to 2012.  Completed a BSc (Hons) Advanced Paramedic Practitioner degree in Sep 2011. 

• Commencing a PG Cert in Critical Care in 2022.  He was awarded the Order of St John for excellence in military medicine in 2019. 

• Since 2013 he has been a volunteer Magpas Air Ambulance critical care paramedic carrying out clinical shifts on a regular basis in the air and by car and joined fulltime after retiring from the RAF in Apr 19, joining as the Clinical Operations Manager and Critical Care Paramedic.  

• He also sits on the training and standards committee for RCSEd and is a volunteer Paramedic with LIVES. 

• A keen sportsman in the past, he is experienced in a wide variety of sports and outdoor activities but most noticeably in Rugby Union and triathlon at which he has represented the RAF and recently played his last game in Oct 2021. He has raised over £120k for various charities during his service.  As well as spending time with his family and keeping fit on his Peloton bike, he enjoys VW Beetles and following Manchester City Football Club.

Elected Nurse Representative: Role Vacant

Elected Non-Healthcare Professional Representative: Nicholas Tuckwell

• Biography to follow

Chair of PHC Student and Junior Trainee Group: Thomas Burton

Dr Thomas Burton is a Junior Doctor in the West Midlands with a keen interest in PHEM. He has been the regional representative for the West-Midlands for the past 2 years and during this time has been responsible for setting up a new PHEM teaching and observer programme in the region. He is a graduate of Birmingham university and intercalated in urgent and emergency care. He undertook an elective flying with East Anglian Air Ambulance and in his spare time works as a Special Constable for West Midlands Police. He is excited to be chair of the student and junior trainee group this year