Joe's Journey - Leading Operations Manager

Joe Cartwright is a leading operations manager (LOM) who has been with the Trust for 22 years.

I started my career as an emergency medical technician (EMT) in 2001 and remained as an EMT for the next 16 years. During this time, I left for a year, as I had an interest in becoming a police officer. I realised very early on that I missed the ambulance service and decided to return and progress to a paramedic. EEAST put me through a foundation degree in paramedic science and I have now been registered since 2018. Being a ‘mature student’, I had an incredible amount of support, which not only removed some of the pressure of academic work, but it also made the time at university enjoyable. I have since progressed to a leading operations manager (LOM) working in south Bedfordshire for the past four years.

I joined the ambulance service because I needed a career that was going to challenge me, be different and help others. The ambulance service ticked all those boxes. Both my brothers were in the emergency services, and the stories they told over the dinner table were far more interesting than my work ones. I needed that ‘wow factor’, so I applied for the role.

The process was lengthy back then, but I was regularly updated on where I was in my application process. The interviews were relaxed but thorough. During my training years on a station, I had the opportunity to work with all grades within EEAST and took a small nugget of wisdom from all of them, that allowed me to be the clinician I wanted to be. I have always said that the EMT role is the best role within any ambulance service, the role gives you autonomy, with the knowledge that there is always someone that can assist you on challenging cases.

I wanted to be part of EEAST’s leadership team as I am keen to implement a positive change and believe this support will increase the longevity of people’s careers here at the Trust. I feel incredibly proud to be in a role that allows me to support my team through difficult times, whilst helping them to develop into strong and confident clinicians.

There were many challenges on the journey to my current role, the first year was challenging but I soon settled in and gained the trust and support of my peers. I feel very proud to have previously won the Excellence in Leadership award and this year have been nominated for another three categories in our Stars of EEAST awards.

I particularly enjoy the elements of leadership and support, clinical challenges, scene management and multi-agency working that the role of LOM provides. I would say this is definitely a career for life – every day is different. Yes, the nature of our roles mean we sometimes experience unpleasant stories, but we have an excellent support process in place to help with that. I’m now in my 22nd year and I still love the job.

Has Joe's story inspired you to start your career for life with EEAST?

Visit 'our vacancies' page to see what roles we have availabe for you today! 

Want to read about more career journeys? 

We have a range of career journeys available for you to read on our website. Visit 'our career journeys' page to find out more.