Best of the PHCP in 2025 - Part 2

Welcome to Best of 2025, Part 2. This collection of episodes
reflects some of the most meaningful, challenging, and quietly
powerful conversations of the year, the ones that sit at the
intersection of clinical excellence, emotional labour, and human
experience.


We begin with After Death: Understanding Grief in Pre-Hospital
Care with Liz Gleeson, Part 2. This episode gave language to
something many clinicians carry but rarely articulate: the weight
of loss, the presence we hold for families after life has ended,
and the cumulative impact that grief has on those working on the
frontline. It was a reminder that what happens after death
matters just as much as the care delivered before it.


From there, we move into one of the most high-stakes scenarios in
medicine with Paediatric Cardiac Arrest featuring Paul Banerjee,
Paediatric Series Part 3. This conversation explored not only the
clinical complexities and time-critical decision-making involved,
but also the emotional intensity of managing cardiac arrest in
children, and the importance of preparation, teamwork, and
reflection in some of the most difficult calls we face.


The focus then shifts to leadership, representation, and culture
with Women in Critical Care: The Journey, Challenges, and
Successes in HEMS with Sophie MacDougall, GWAAC Series Part 2.
This episode highlighted the realities of working in
high-performance, high-pressure environments, the barriers that
still exist, and the progress being made. It was an honest and
necessary discussion about inclusion, mentorship, and what
strong, compassionate leadership looks like in modern critical
care.


We then turn to one of the most urgent issues facing pre-hospital
services with Suicide Prevention on the Frontline, Mental Health
Part 2. This episode addressed the role clinicians play not only
in crisis intervention, but in recognising risk, having difficult
conversations, and understanding our own emotional responses. It
reinforced the idea that suicide prevention is not confined to
mental health services; it is part of everyday frontline care.


We close Part 2 with Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: The
Condition We Often Miss. This conversation challenged
assumptions, highlighted diagnostic blind spots, and reminded us
that not all chest pain fits the patterns we expect. It was a
powerful example of how listening carefully, maintaining
curiosity, and questioning heuristics can directly change patient
outcomes.


Taken together, these episodes reflect the depth and diversity of
modern pre-hospital and emergency care, from grief to
resuscitation, from equity and leadership to mental health and
diagnostic precision. They are conversations that stayed with
many of you long after the episode ended. Thanks again to PAX
Bags, our long-term sponsor of the podcast. Best-in-class medical
bags from PAX can be found here: https://www.pax-bags.com/en/