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NewsMeet the oldest Air Ambulance Nurse in Australia
Meet the oldest Air Ambulance Nurse in Australia

Meet the oldest Air Ambulance Nurse in Australia

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Last updated by Someone on

Maureen Roberts has many career highlights to share from her 32 years as Australia’s longest serving air ambulance nurse.

In a recent interview on Macquarie Media, Maureen told the story of the pilot of her aircraft passing out at the controls and how she calmly popped his oxygen mask on and brought him around enough to land the plane. And you thought your job had challenges!

Maureen began her career in the Riverina and became interested in the Air Ambulance are speaking to a fellow nurse from the service. She started her career in Albury but is now based at Mascot, near Sydney.

Another memorable moment of her career involved a premature baby in the skies over the Hunter Valley in NSW. The Air Ambulance needed to land but a FA18 Hornet on “critical fuel” took precedence. Maureen remembers saying to the Air Ambulance pilot “the fighter pilot can eject if he needs to but we can’t, we need to land”!

One of the wonderful things about her job, Maureen told us, is that every day is a different experience depending on the patients you're transporting.

“Sometimes you're taking people home to die and they know they're going to die and they have the most amazing conversations with you."

Hear the full interview with Maureen Roberts here

Originally posted on .

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Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Well said diane from Qld 

Ken
Ken from QLD commented:

This Fed Govt is trying to act like a purely profit driven company, whereas their job is to keep the nation on an upward and forward trend, averaging between hard and good times. I see no inkling of this from the PM or his "Treasurer in hiding". Why cannot an interest in a business be taken, on behalf of "us", to the value of the subsidy being requested, to be sold off at a later date? Further, it is my belief that companies are not meeting their obligations to keep up to date and modernised/efficient. There are 2 sides of the industrial thuggery/criminality postulations which are about - and a quick look at the political fate of Malcolm Turnbull within the Liberal Party will demonstrate this - including their own refusal to use this man's financial skills and experience. The Labour Party will only live again when they get rid of the ancient Union boss who hides behind then - his only claim to fame being the loss of > half of his membership. Until then folks, we are in deep .... ! 

diane
diane from QLD commented:

I think the biggest ripped of is us tax payers paying for ex Prime Minister and retired Ministers so they can live the life as they please and trip off around the world, first class Cut there benefits and the government might have more money to spend on more important things, my husband and I worked for 100 years between the 2 of us, we paid taxes, reared 3 children without Any government assistance, we Are entitled to our pension and a comfortable live in our later live 

Ivanka
Ivanka from NSW commented:

Fish stinks from the head. They have start first from their self's, don't they? 

Roman
Roman from QLD commented:

Most of our generation were stay at home mums and superannuation wasn't an option ,only for the well off ,so even tough we have saved and added to our super over the years ,we still need our entitlements. My husband has diabetes and chronic heart disease and his medication cost. My husband visited an orthopaedic surgeon yesterday and cost $165, with a $72 rebate, so even though he has a pension card we still pay as much as any one else. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

The reason the country is broke is because of the big spending of the labour party governments with the Greens support. No one seems to be holding them accountable. Any comment I hear from either of these groups makes it sound like they had nothing to do with the current problem!? What planet have they been living on. Apart from their waste over 8 years we also need to review ALL benefits. Far too many go to bludgers and people rorting the system like sickness beneficiary bikies, or 'solo mums' who are in fact. living with their partners. Unlike many of the previous comments I am happy to support politicians benefits and payments so long as they are fixing the problem not creating it. I think the current opposition owe this country billions. Surely they should be the ones getting huge pay cuts. Paying them has been and continues to be a total waste of money. 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW commented:

I personally feel they have done what they set out to do and that was whiteant this country to the point where it is in a total state of disrepair, and the current carpenters are unable to restore due to lack of funds and will therefore be seen to be the bad guys. I know I for one would not have liked to have been the new purchaser of the MESS they call The House! They said they would stop the boats and they have. Without too much WhoHar, fanfare or bloodshed. Just quietly said no - this is the way its going to be. If that is an indicator of how they are going to operate, I hope the country gives them a fair go and makes as many allowances for them to fix things, as it gave the last lot to stuff things to the degree they have. 

Bernard
Bernard from QLD commented:

Politicians enjoy a lifestyle most of us can only dream of. Their retirement benefits are worth a kings ransom and indexed to ensure their luxurious life styles are never affected. They have no idea of what people living in the real world have to put up with. I expected better from Abbot and Hockey but apparently there is no difference in the ideology of the LNP or Labor. Thank god for people like Clive Palmer and Bob Katter. I know who will be getting my vote at the next election. 

Barbara
Barbara from QLD replied to Bernard:

Same here ....... 2 party dictatorship has to go! 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW replied to Bernard:

Yes - retirement benefits for pollies appear luxurious and go on forever. Seems to me while those mentioned may look like/are alternatives - BUT - please consider their ideals and lifestyles before deciding if they are a viable option or in the case of one of them in particular - could alter things to help themselves. While I guess I could be called a swinging voter - Im mindful of the fact this LNP Government have barely had time to warm their seats - and are no doubt still uncovering debts and minefields either set or missed by their predecessors. They said they would stop the boats . . . they have. But thanks to the previous government we have THOUSANDS of illegals here sucking on the public teat and THAT will probably be forever. And dont forget the LAST Government consisted of Independents who were there to line their pockets and be heard and seen with a powerplay way, along with Green Idealists who like spoilt children demanded or pouted with retaliation threats if they didnt get their way. :) 

Barbara
Barbara from QLD commented:

?Sooooo...... what isn't fair ... is... politicians retirement packages! Can that be changed as well? What puts them into a category of their own? Why is their choice of careers any different to anybody elses? All people I come across are fed up with the lies and deceipt of any government that happens to get in .... no trust left here! 

stephen
stephen from QLD commented:

Doesn't this make your blood boil,these blokes earning big money telling us who have worked for 40 years plus to try and get something in life that we shouldn't think we are entitled to anything. they should hang their heads in shame !! If I could afford it I would move overseas because Australia to just about ruined I reckon. 

Roslyn
Roslyn from QLD replied to stephen:

Completely agree Stephen. There are countried in Europe where you only receive a pension proportionate with the length of time you have worked during life and paid taxes. If that were the case here there would be an awful lot of penniless people. Why should we who have played by the rules and worked hard and paid our taxes be continually punished. Im tired of being told we are lucky. Yep the harder we worked the "luckier" we became NOT. The harder we worked the more taxes we paid. 

Patricia
Patricia from NSW commented:

Leave the Old Age Pensioners alone - they have worked and paid taxes for many years. The lazy young who do not want to work are a different kettle of fish. They should be made to work to earn their unemployment benefits. Pat from NSW 

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