Meet Sammy Wills, Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s longest serving paramedic.

Sammy’s been doing the job since 2002!  

And in this episode she shares stories from across her 23 year career, from her teenage dream of becoming a paramedic in a helicopter, delivering twins at the roadside, and even becoming a patient herself.

Each month, our crew is called to deliver urgent, lifesaving care, and regular donations help us stay ready for every mission.  

To set up a regular gift, text YAA5 to 70460 to give £5 a month.

Thank you

If you want to find out more about Yorkshire Air Ambulance you can visit our website Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Yorkshire Air Ambulance Summat Ep 1

Welcome to Summat in t'air the podcast by Yorkshire Air Ambulance. 2025 marks 25 years of Yorkshire Air Ambulance flying helicopters and saving lives across the region. So to celebrate, we're sharing stories of rescues and a glimpse of life at the charity.

I'll be in a supermarket and, like, picking up, I don't know, bananas. And then they'll. They'll tap me on the shoulder and say, I recognize your voice. And I'm like, seriously, you haven't even seen my face. And they're like, no, I recognize your voice.

Sammy Wills is Yorkshire Air Ambulance's longest serving paramedic and one of the longest serving HEMS paramedics in the UK. There's not much she hasn't seen from saving lives, delivering babies at the roadside and being a patient herself.

I was 14, I remember actually running back from school to my dad's office in Elland, ironically, and saying, dad, dad, I know what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a paramedic on a helicopter. And he said, well, that's fine, Sammy, but you'll probably have to join the military and go to America. Because I am that old there was no paramedics in England at that time.

What year did you end up then, at the Air Ambulance?

I started in the year 2002. The air ambulance started the year 2000 and literally I got to work with the very first ever crew and I've worked with every single crew member since, so it's a privilege. But I'd wanted to be a paramedic for years and years and I was working for South Yorkshire Ambulance Service as was, and this advert came up and it didn't come up on our station, it was on a different one. So after work, I drove to this different station and it was talking about the West Yorkshire Air Ambulance and it was only west because that's where it was based. But they were letting south and north and east paramedics apply. Straight off photocopied that, applied that day because the closing day was the very next day. And then, you know, I was shortlisted, did the tests, did the exam, did the physical test.

If you've been on holiday and you hadn't seen that, you'd have missed the deadline completely. It could have been a very different career path for you, couldn't it?

I'd watched avidly as Yorkshire Ambulance Service had actually got a helicopter and I'd seen it on the news a few times and I'd seen Mick Lindley, the manager, and I was like, wow. And the original eight, our founding fathers. And I just wanted to be part of that.

Can you remember your first day?

I'll tell you what happened because it was a bank holiday, we hadn't done the training on the Monday which meant that we then, we had to do an extra day. So I finished and passed all my tests on the following Monday. And the crew, because we were sharing the same, same location, the crew came in and went, have they all passed? And we had, there was three of us. And they were like, right, Sammy, can you do my shift tomorrow, please? And I was like, I wasn't rostered till the following week and straight away they wanted a swap. And I literally, I stayed over, stayed in Leeds and flew the very next day. So there was no time to get the building up of nerves.

No. So you probably felt part of the team straight away if they're asking you to do shift swaps.

Literally it, it was a small nucleus back then, like the eight crew and, and three fundraisers and, and it really did feel like family. So yeah, straight away it was just another quick swap.

So then you had your dream job and was it what you expected?

It was more so it was everything and more. I do remember my first ever job. It was, bearing in mind it's Leeds Bradford Airport and we flew to Horsforth, so I barely remembered to put my seatbelt on and how to get it off before we'd landed. And I remember getting out and walking towards the job thinking that was ace. Oh, hang on a minute, I'm a paramedic, now I've got to put that hat on. And it literally taking off your flight helmet and then putting on like your medical head, it became something that I learned to be able to do quite quickly. And the lady was absolutely fine.

It had been a car crash and she was pregnant. But everything turned out beautifully.

So that was your first mission and everything turned out fine.

Yes.

That's good. What was a team like in those days?

Well, they're still my legends. They were my heroes anyway. And we do stand on the shoulders of those giants. In those days we literally were transiting across from being a paramedic on the road to a paramedic in a helicopter. It was before you started getting all the additional skills and drugs and they'd got a few pieces of equipment. A traction splint at the time was seen as the bees knees of all, all equipment and nobody had them out on the road. So you know, I was signed off how to use it and tractioning. I'm allowed to pull a leg straight.

And then we introduced Morphine, because that's something I had in my service but they didn't have up here. So we were able to share different pieces of best practice and just get better and better. And that story has continued all 25 years.

So 25 years ago, the helicopter itself must have been very different to the state of the art choppers we've got now.

Absolutely. Our state of the art that allows us to fly at night with more crew, six people. Back in the day, oh, now you're gonna make me sound old. Back in the day, we literally flew with one pilot and two paramedics. And on a hot day, those rare beautiful days in Yorkshire when it was sunny, you could only fly with one patient and one paramedic because the aircraft didn't have the capacity to fly with all that weight. I, at the time, was one of the smaller paramedics, so it was very rare I was ever left behind. But we even, we loaded the patient through the boot, but the roof was literally like 3 or 4 inches off of their nose.

It's been very claustrophobic.

Yeah. And not comfortable for them that are already going through the worst day of their life in pain. But the aircraft, now we've got, we've got elbow room and we can move around and luxury.

So where could you land in those days? Hospital wise, I'm talking about.

Yeah. So hospital wise, nobody really had their own dedicated helipad. The only one we were blessed was, was Leeds LGI Leeds General Infirmary on top of the helipad. First time doing that, I was like, wow, they let me do that. But others, it was more ad hoc. The CAA are fantastic at keeping us, the public and aviation safe. And if anything, restrictions have become tighter, but for the right reasons.

So we still landed anywhere and we do still land anywhere. When we take off, we don't always know where we're going.

So you've painted a picture of what it used to be like then. What's been the biggest change, do you think, over the years? There've been many, obviously, but, you know, for you, what, what sticks out?

The first thing that comes to mind is the bag. So we used to have one rucksack, literally one rucksack. And then there'd be the Entonox and this special splint. Now we have two ginormous bags with a ventilator with blood, with everything else that we might possibly need for state of the art care. But that bag, when I look back, it was, it was tiny, but it was portable. And now, because the crew is bigger, better, the aircraft is stronger, then we can take literally the A and E department and sometimes the operating theatre to the side of the patient. So for me, the kit, yeah, one of the best things that we've not got to do anymore is towing the bowser out to refuel because I could never reverse park it in a straight line back in the hangar. So I'm grateful that now we've got static bowsers.

You used to reverse bowsers. Wow.

Sheffield Airport, it was my, that was my nemesis. Could never do it in a straight line.

Well, there's not many people have reversed bowsers. No, this is true, you have, Sammy.

But there were good things as well that we've got now, like tractors with snow plows. So when it snows, whoever's here first gets the tractor keys and they're off. Otherwise you've got a shovel.

So are there any sort of memorable call outs that, that you can recall? No doubt there's many, but just tell us about one or two.

I think, I think part of my longevity of being here is that I am able to compartmentalize and put some of the, the tragedy and the horrific jobs away. But there are still the memorable ones and the outstandingly incredible ones. People that you think, how, how are they still here? How are they still talking to me? So straight away, I think about the twins that we delivered at the roadside as a crew. I think about the gentleman who had managed to drive onto a scaffolding pole through his windscreen and back out the other side. So, yeah, that is incredibly memorable. Way back in the day, the most incredible job we were ever tasked to Helimed 98, the old Bolco. So the original old aircraft, and we were just told by ambulance control, as it was known then, that a little one had been knocked down. And you think, oh, child, tragic, sad.

And we go, and then we get over the radio, stand down, return base, call us when you get back. So we did, because usually we get a reason or a rationale and, and hopefully it's because the child's been picked up and taken. Unfortunately, the woman that had dialed 999 had witnessed a cat with her kitten and the kitten got knocked down and she'd rung up in disaster going, the little one, the little one's been knocked down. So officially, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance has been tasked as a veterinary rescue aircraft.

So it's not just the fire service that rescue cats.

No. So we have been tasked to a cat. I never met the cat, but that's what happened.

Oh, fantastic. That's a good story. But, Sammy, you've been on the other side of an emergency call out, haven't you? Tell us about that.

This is embarrassing.

No, it's not. Tell us about it.

So the irony is, this is absolutely true. We were tasked to a lady in a remote accessible area who'd fallen and broken her leg. Unfortunately, after getting out of the aircraft and carrying the kit bag, the Entonox and the defib, as I was walking away from the aircraft, my leg fell through the ground. I can't say there was a hole. I genuinely believed it was either a fox sett or a badger sett. Fell down past my knee and the other leg on top had nowhere to go and I broke it. So as I laid there...

If only there was an air ambulance.

Well, I was face down and the defib had winded me. So I was trying to tell my crewmate I'm all right, but I couldn't get anything out. But I genuinely thought when I turn around and look, my leg would be like bent at a funny angle because it was on fire. Anyway, shouldn't be about me. Anyway, I said, I'll try and catch you up. You go ahead and if I can get over that barbed wire fence, I'll. I'll meet you down there. I couldn't even crawl. I couldn't stand. I couldn't get up. So I decided that maybe I had done something.

About an hour and a half later, when the crew came back up from where this inaccessible lady was with Mountain Rescue and the road crew, I was still sat in the sunshine, making it look like I was sunbathing, because the members of the public are like, oh, are you all right? Oh, is it a real job? Oh, am I all right to carry on? I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, you'll see them. But they're all right. An hour and a half later, they came back up and the pilot helped me hobble. I climbed into the aircraft. I was very well behaved. I didn't cry.

You're a perfect patient.

Well, maybe not, because I did think about cannulating myself and if I gave myself morphine, would that be done for drug abuse? Would I get in trouble? Anyway, the long story short is I met our patient in X-Ray and she goes, oh, I've broken my leg in two places. And I went, so have I. I don't know. Actually, I let you go first in the X-ray department. I didn't know at that time, but yes. So I then got a lift back in the air ambulance back to base before I went home.

And did you get, pardon the expression, your leg pulled?

Completely. You can't hide on a hospital trolley in bright orange. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to go. And. And the ambulance crews that were waiting to go in with their patients, they're like, oh, what have you done? And oh, it's all right for some isn't it getting to the front of the queue. I was not at the front of the queue.

No.

I waited in A&E along with everybody else that knew exactly who I was and if I could have hidden myself, I would have.

And how long did it take you to recover?

Jon, I could have had a baby. Nine months I was off, that 10th month. I've been doing light duties, working on the hair desk. I've done the fitness test, I've done my ambulance service moving and handling assessment. So good to be back.

So what was it like putting your flight suit back on?

Tight? Really tight. I'd been on crutches for like 9 months and clearly had enjoyed my treats and sweets that people had donated in my direction whilst being off work. So literally it felt tight, but it felt fabulous. And. And just getting back in, climbing in the aircraft, just flying. Yorkshire is beautiful. So when we've done the job, we always have to get back to base and flying over Yorkshire, hats off.

Wonderful job, Wonderful job. Looking back 25 years, would you do anything differently?

That's a great question. I've just loved the journey so much. Maybe just relax a bit more and enjoy the camaraderie that we have, the excellent clinical skills and care that we're taught. Not get worried about, oh, have I? Am I going to pass this test or will I pass this assessment? Just go, just learn it. It's always for the benefit of the patient. I've always loved welcoming new faces, new crew as they come on and watching them learn and grow, signing off all the different learner outcomes or building your portfolio.I love supporting them.

So in the nicest way. Would you consider yourself to be Aunty Sammy?

I don't think they've ever called me that. I have no idea what they do call me behind my back.

Do you feel that? Your kind of mother, especially the youngsters.

I do like to make sure they're okay. Definitely 100%.

I'm sure you do, yeah. So where do you think the Yorkshire Air Ambulance will be in 25 years, years time? The next 25 years.

I hope they have a third aircraft that covers maybe the east of Yorkshire. I hope that we aspire higher all the time, never sit still or rest on our laurels that we're always driving the clinical, the aviation side, that we carry on supporting the ambulance service and the NHS to the best of our ability, but that we always, always, always focus on that patient at that time. And sometimes there's more than one patient and that's when it gets tricky. So by having the second and the third aircraft, it's a dream. Honestly. I started with one aircraft, so having three is. I can't have even imagined it.

So going back to 2002, when you first started, I presume you were the only female member of the crew, Am I right?

There was a long period of time I was the only female, but there I stand on the shoulders of giants again. There was two other females that had stepped in and out whilst I'd been there. And now we've had one intake where there was, there was more girls than boys and I'm like, bring it on. And I take great satisfaction in increasing our little corner of women's lockers because it used to be like just one and now two, three. And now we've got lots.

So you feel that the opportunities for women are greater now?

Yeah, 100%.

Good. Sammy. I think I can hear the helicopter returning from a mission.

That is definitely Helimed 98 returning to base.

Of course it is. And if anybody would know, it would be you, of course. So you've inspired many people over the last 25 years. Sammy, how do you feel about inspiring the next generation coming through?

It is a privilege to have such a high profile job that you have to be mindful of others perceptions. But I love it when young people come to me and say, so how do I get to be a paramedic or how can I get to be a paramedic on helicopter that you can see the enthusiasm and the light that they desire and I recognize that from when I was like 14. So helping others is definitely something I enjoy doing. How I do it. I am aware of other colleagues that I serve alongside that I've met before they've become a paramedic and then when they've stepped onto base they're going, I did it. And that’s ace, that is. And I've had young students. I'm an associate lecturer sometimes at Sheffield Hallam University and they were like, I remember watching you on telly when I was a kid and I'm like, is the series that old? And now I work alongside them, in fact, there is one crew member that I'm stood at the side of and he's literally a Schoolboy. So, yeah, there. There have been moments of inspiration that I'm chuffed that their dreams have been able to come true.

So, going back to the telly, of course, you've been on telly for many years, haven't you? Do you get recognized frequently? Occasionally, yes. And that must be nice.

Yes. Yeah. It's embarrassing sometimes. And my sisters, they love it when I get stopped. Or I'll be in a supermarket and, like, picking up, I don't know, bananas, and then they'll tap me on the shoulder and say, I recognize your voice. And I'm like, seriously, you haven't even seen my face. And they're like, nope, I recognize your voice off of whichever TV series it is that they've watched. It's crazy to me.

We all hope that we never need the air ambulance, don't we?

Obviously you don't actually want to meet me at work.

Exactly. But on on that theme, I've had dreams in the past where I've been up on the moors and up on the you know, and fallen ill, and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance comes along and out jumps Sammy. And I think, if Sammy jumps out, everything's going to be all right.I'm not dissing any of the other paramedics. Of course

They are all wonderful.

They're all wonderful. Of course they are. They all work hard. But if Sammy turns up, I know everything is going to be just fine.

I have had. We landed on a rugby pitch for a youth team playing rugby. And there's a young man. You can see him, and there's a man holding his head. It turns out the man was his dad. And he says, it's all right, son. It's all right, son. It's Sammy that's coming. I'm like, that's crazy.

That is, isn't it? You're like an angel that turns out from the sky.

This is my cringe face for those that cannot see it.

So, Sammy, if you could go back to the young Sammy all those years ago, what would you say to her? What would you tell her?

I would tell her to go for it. And my motto was, always aspire higher. And I truly did. I knew that's what I wanted to do. I hope not at the cost of anything else, but I did. I worked hard. I passed my driving test. You had to have been driving for at least one year before you could apply to the ambulance service.

So on that day, I did apply. And I was blessed that I got through in the first intake. And then it took me five years, I think, to become a paramedic, because you had to do two years out on the road first. And I just worked my way up from part time to full time to technician to paramedic. The days of doing it at university hadn't even started back then.

And what does the charity mean to you now?

Congratulations to the charity for blossoming and for being successfully poor, because the money that is raised is spent on the right things to help the people of Yorkshire. Congratulations to the founding fathers. They literally, they stuck their necks out on the line and they got an aircraft and they got some paramedics and they made the things merge. But, you know, the first ever chief pilot, John Sutherland, he had to get permission to land near a hospital. There was no such thing as a helipad. And, and all the additional stuff that, that they've just laid the foundation that we just keep building upon. So thank you to the, the original paramedics, the original pilots, the future paramedics and the future pilots. You've got it all to come because we've got doctors, we've got technical computer crew members

Who knows how we're going to expand. I think the biggest thank you goes to the entire population of Yorkshire for the fundraising, for the craziness of ideas that they come up with, for the sacrifice of their time, their skill, their talents that they put into generating and creating money to be able to convert it into the flying of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance 0 just gives me the dream job. Thank you.

It's great to hear firsthand how Yorkshire Air Ambulance has grown and changed over the years and Sammy certainly has some great stories. If you want to support the work the Yorkshire Air Ambulance does, go to our website, yorkshireairambulance.org.uk where you can easily donate. Thank you for listening to Summit in Air. If you've enjoyed the podcast, please share it and tell your friends to listen.