Hi, my name is Mia O’Lone and I am one of the first 40 students as a student paramedic in NI’s first BSC Hons Paramedic Science Degree at Ulster University.

I am training to become a Paramedic because I want to help people.

I thrive on challenges that push me to the extreme, proven through working as a Care Worker, Sales Assistant, and in the Western Ambulance Service NI. The diversity of my experience shows that I can work in a variety of environments. Whether the issue is trauma, medical, GP referral, mental health, social calls, or answering police call-outs, I am prepared to push my skills to improve my training to equip me further in the future in becoming a paramedic.

I signed up to become a Junior Club AANI member because I want to be a part of Air Ambulance NI and support them by giving a small monthly donation to help keep the helicopter flying as they respond to critical emergencies across Northern Ireland. AANI needs to raise £2million a year to keep the helicopter in service. As a member, you won’t just show your commitment to saving lives; you will likewise be essential for creating sustainability for this lifesaving service. I am really grateful that I am an AANI volunteer! 

As a Club AANI member, the charity will send you a booklet of information on the helicopter and service every so often with facts and statistics about AANI which I really found interesting, especially for me as I would love to have a career in the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service down the line in my career as a Paramedic. A fact I have learnt is that the air ambulance can get anywhere in Northern Ireland in 25 minutes and if a patient reaches hospital within the Golden Hour (60 minutes after their injury) their chances of survival are dramatically increased.

I would definitely encourage more people to sign up to be a Junior or Senior Club member, at the end of the day guys the Air Ambulance is a very crucial service for the public of NI. 

Find out more about Club AANI by clicking here.