Gunnedah ambulance station celebrates 40 years of female paramedics

This year, NSW Ambulance is looking back over the decades to celebrate the first female paramedic, Lee Clout, who joined in May 1979 with "a passion for getting out in the community and helping people".

That there had never been a female paramedic in the service didn't deter the 20-year-old Riverina woman, because "my parents never told me I couldn't do anything because of my gender".

"I always wanted to be a paramedic and I had the skills to do the job. It was as simple as that," she wrote in a NSW Ambulance commemorative booklet.

Her first job was in Wagga Wagga and the high heels provided were soon replaced with boots - "I asked to be dressed the same as the men".

Fast forward to 2019, and NSW Ambulance's workforce is more than 40 per cent women. Almost half of these employees are in senior leadership roles, a leap from 29 per cent just seven years earlier.

Ex-army medic and now Gunnedah paramedic, Sue Newbery, met Mrs Clout at a NSW Ambulance luncheon in Sydney last week and came back "a little bit more inspired".

"I came back from that celebration a little bit more inspired because I didn't realise how hard these women had worked to get where we are today ... they just had a go at everything and did their best," Ms Newbery said.

"I felt a little bit like, 'Wow, I need to make sure I do the best I can whilst I'm in the job, and make them proud and pass the baton on.'"

"I don't think it ever dawned on me that [gender] had been an issue, because I joined NSW Police when I was 20 ... I probably was unaware, blissfully, and a bit naive.

"All the things these ladies had been talking about, yes, I had witnessed that, but it was just a sign of the times in Australia ... not just NSW Ambulance."

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Now, gender doesn't come into it and fellow Gunnedah paramedics Danielle Colver, Hayley Hausfeld, Bronwyn Wilton and trainee Maddi Lisle say their only alternative to paramedicine would have been nursing.

Ms Colver said "society has changed, which has helped".

"Back in the day when they said women can't lift, I think was more of a misconception, but I think lifestyles have changed for men and women," she said.

"Gone are the days of a 1950s housewife where your job is to stay in the kitchen and cook dinner."

Despite the prevalence of female paramedics, they said some people were still doubtful when they turn up at their door.

"You get larger people who go, 'Oh, two women? You should have sent the men', but you still get them up off the floor," Ms Colver said.

"I think it's a bit of a misconception of yesteryear."

Ms Hausfeld has seen the most changes, as the longest-serving female on staff.

She had studied agricultural science but "needed a change". She had always been interested in nursing, but "I like being outside, so I thought paramedicine would suit me better."

Her brother was applying for NSW Ambulance so she decided it was worth a shot.

Ms Hausfeld said there was no university course when she joined, so she did "on-the-road training" instead.

She spent her probation year at Naremburn, then moved on to Moree for 12 months before settling in Gunnedah in 2006.

"I do love it. Some days are really hard, but I think you have to like it to stay in for a long period of time ... I like helping people," she said.

"I still have days where I worry I'm doing the wrong thing, but that's just me as a person; that's not the job."

In the past 16 years, she said, life-saving drugs and new technology had changed the industry and she was "pretty lucky" to be a part of that.

For Ms Lisle, so much is still new: "I feel like I've barely touched the surface of what there is to know."

"The more time I spend at work, the more I like it," she said.

Like Ms Hausfeld, she wanted to work in the medical field but not be stuck inside, so paramedics was the perfect fit.

For Ms Wilton, it was a welcome change from working for "soul-sucking corporations" when she joined three years ago.

She had already started working as a patient transport officer in Sydney when her brother encouraged her to apply for paramedicine.

Ms Wilton said she "wasn't quite sure about it at first" but after a few "ride-alongs" in ambulances, she decided she "absolutely loved it".

She started as a vocational trainee and is now changing to a university course to complete her training.

With both pathways now open, Ms Hausfeld is urging more women to think about paramedicine because "it's a really good choice".

Station manager Scott Clarke said it was "good fun" and "a great balance to the dynamic" to have women in the mix.

"Having that diversity is good ... [and] we're always going to come across jobs where a patient, be it an adult or particularly a child, may respond better to either gender," he said.

"At the end of the day, men and women see things differently, and ... it makes it enjoyable."