LGBTQ+ history through the lens of paramedic practice

When stacking up the history of paramedics against that of other healthcare professions in the UK, we are still the new kids on the block. Despite the fact that paramedic-style work has been undertaken in one form or another since the time of the Romans, it wasn't until the Chamberlain synthesis in 1970 (Chamberlain, 2018) that a distinct professional identity for the paramedic began to emerge in the UK. The idea of ‘mere ambulancemen’ undertaking medical interventions was shocking at the time, and initiated the proud tradition of paramedic practice being a path of positive disruption and new ideas. Today, this same disruptive attitude continues to promote change—not only in prehospital clinical care, but also within the profession that provides it. The concept of retrieval without care is long since gone, but so too is the idea of it being provided solely by those ambulancemen of old.