EAAA announces the retirement of its Deputy Medical Director

East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) has announced the retirement of its Deputy Medical Director Dr Pam Chrispin, after 14 years with the air ambulance charity.

Chrispin joined EAAA in 2007, becoming the organization’s first female flying doctor at a time when all EAAA doctors were volunteers.

In 2016, Chrispin became one of the first doctors to be formally employed by EAAA, and later became the charity’s first Deputy Medical Director in 2018 – a post which she will hold until her departure at the end of January.

Chrispin’s 14 years with EAAA constitute only a part of her 40 year medical career. Specialising in anaesthesiology, Chrispin has also sat on several medical boards across East Anglia, including as Medical Director of the East of England Ambulance Service between 2010 and 2013; Medical Director of West Suffolk Hospital between 2014 and 2016. She has also volunteered as a doctor for the Suffolk Accident Rescue Service, and continues to act as a Non-Executive Director at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for Safeguarding, Maternity and Young People,

An inspirational leader and colleague who helped train the next generation

In a statement, EAAA said that Chrispin ‘has proudly kicked the door down for women’ and ‘has helped to shape EAAA into the leading air ambulance service that it is today.’

“Through her role as Deputy Medical Director at EAAA, her legacy has involved helping the charity to better demonstrate how it is positively impacting patient’s care, by creating a formal governance structure, and in leading the clinical training and continuous education for EAAA’s doctors and critical care paramedics, nurturing the next generation,” the statement continues.

According to Victor Inyang, Medical Director at EAAA: “Dr Pam Chrispin has been an inspirational leader and colleague at the East Anglian Air Ambulance. She has been at the core of developing our pre-hospital critical care service, which we are all proud of, and the underpinning clinical governance structure that ensures a high-quality service is delivered consistently to all our patients. A truly remarkable legacy. We wish her well in her next phase and thank her for the service she has given.”

Chrispin said: “It’s been a huge privilege for me personally to be able to help train the next generation of pre-hospital emergency medicine specialists and to see them leap-frogging me in terms of their skills, drive and ambition to continuously improve patient care through EAAA. It’s been wonderful and I am feeling very emotional about leaving, but I’ve done my bit and am delighted to pass the baton on to the next generation. I will miss everyone dearly but am looking forward to spending more time with my family.”