The Flying Doctor

Meet Justin Squires. If you’re involved in a road accident, fall off a horse, or injure yourself while out hiking in the Peak District, there’s a good chance that Justin will be flying to your aid. Justin is a doctor for Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance, and he will be working full time with the lifesaving Charity for the rest of the year.

Justin is usually an Emergency Medicine Registrar at Sheffield Northern General Hospital, but he’s swopped his scrubs for a flight suit until February 2014 in order to put his advanced clinical skills to use at the side of the road and at accident scenes across the three counties.

Dr Squires, a former Chartered Engineer and Physicist at Rolls Royce, explains why he’s decided to come on board with Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance: “It’s something I’ve always been interested in since I began work as a doctor. I enjoy doing a role that helps others and this was an ideal opportunity to use my skills to potentially make a real difference between life and death.”

The application and training process to become an Air Ambulance doctor is tough. As well as an application form and an interview, Dr Squires had to undergo a variety of scenarios. He then had to go on a week-long Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) crew member course, where he learnt among other things how to assist the Pilot with navigation.  He already had passed a Diploma in Immediate Medical Care.

The process was worth it, and he is now out an about saving lives from the skies on a daily basis. He says: “I really enjoy putting my knowledge to use in a different and challenging environment; working alongside the paramedics we are able to bring resuscitation room care wherever it needs to be, in effect bringing the hospital to the roadside. I love being part of such a committed team and I’m looking forward to the rest of my year with them.”


Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance regularly have doctors flying on board alongside the paramedics in order to provide the best possible care to patients. Doctors can administer advanced pain relief as well as performing procedures such as anaesthesia, which usually only happens inside of a hospital.