A series of videos were produced and released on this date, including one starring newly qualified paramedic Emilia Klucznyk who has just completed her first year working in Guernsey.

Another featured Guernsey's first female paramedic, Sonia Guille.

Ms Klucznyk completing a paramedic degree at university in the UK before starting work.

“I love the job because I love to help people, I love meeting different people and hearing their stories and being there when things are tough for them and being the best person I can be for them,” she said.

Ms Guille agreed that the paramedic profession is growing with a range of career opportunities now available. She now leads and supervises a team of clinicians and has recently spent some time in Sark working at the Island Medical Centre covering for the island doctor.

“Being a paramedic is very rewarding and satisfying. No two days are the same and every day you are faced with different situations. You could be at a road traffic collision or providing care in someone’s home or at the top of a cliff, but it is all very rewarding.”

Pictured: Sonia Guille.

International Paramedics Day was organised by The College of Paramedics. Its Chief Executive Tracy Nicholls OBE said the role of a paramedic has evolved dramatically over the past two decades.

“Last year’s International Paramedics Day was a real celebration of the profession coming together from all over the world to reveal why they were proud to be paramedics. But this year, the message is clear – being a paramedic is a versatile, multifaceted, and diverse profession which has grown exponentially in the last decade. It’s time people recognised, understood and appreciated that. Working in the ambulance service is, of course, a vital role which highly-skilled paramedics perform all around the world, and one that many people think of first, but this is by no means all that we do and paramedics are now managing a broad range of complex and challenging conditions in a wide range of out-of-hospital environments.”

SJARS Chief Executive Officer Mark Mapp, who is also a practicing paramedic endorsed International Paramedic Day and was pleased two of his team were selected for the campaign.

“This annual observance is a valuable platform to celebrate and recognise the paramedic profession locally and globally. In recent years, paramedics have made remarkable progress in their field, enabling them to specialise in various areas such as urgent care, primary care, intensive care, and community care. This diversification of skills has empowered paramedics to provide specialised and tailored healthcare services to those in need.”