Service's first paramedic apprentices graduate

Staff at the North East Ambulance Service were offered the chance to train as paramedic apprentices

The first ever cohort of paramedic apprentices from an ambulance service have graduated.

Staff from across all corners of the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) were offered a chance to study Paramedic Practice degrees at Teesside University.

Seventeen apprentices graduated on Wednesday, with one saying it was a "surreal and proud moment".

The scheme provides an alternative to the typical university route into becoming a paramedic, with an emphasis on providing hands-on learning experience, NEAS said.

Apprentices were selected from an internal-only pool of applicants, coming from across the service, including clinical care assistants, health advisors, dispatchers and support services.

Twenty places are offered each year, with 58 paramedic apprentices currently studying.

Catherine Fish, from Backworth, originally joined NEAS as a health advisor

Catherine Fish, from North Tyneside, joined NEAS in 2010 as a health advisor before becoming a health advisor trainer in 2016.

Ms Fish said she was "over the moon" to have completed and earned her degree.

NEAS assistant director of people development, Karen Gardner, said: "Five years ago, we embarked on a journey to introduce a career progression route for our colleagues across the service who wanted to become paramedics."

Ms Gardner said the programme had been "challenging but rewarding".

During their studies, apprentices worked with crews across north-east England, responding to 999 calls.

The service’s strategic education lead Daniel Cooper said: "Their graduation today isn’t only testament to their academic abilities, but their resilience and hard work as operational colleagues in our service."