Navigating Collective Trauma: NHS Ambulance Teams in the COVID-19 Crisis with Jo Mildenhall

Today, we explore the collective experience of trauma among NHS ambulance personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that tested the resilience and identity of clinicians like never before.

In the episode, we’ll uncover the inspirations behind this research, examining how social identity processes provide a profound lens to understand how ambulance teams navigate trauma. Our guest will walk us through their methodology, highlighting the value of a longitudinal qualitative approach and the unique hurdles of conducting research during a global crisis.

Jo guides us through her methodology, highlighting the importance of longitudinal qualitative approaches and the challenges of conducting research amid a global crisis. We unpack how group membership shaped emotional and behavioural responses during the pandemic, revealing the cultural forces at play within NHS ambulance services and how these dynamics contributed to collective resilience.

We also explore the long-term psychological impact of the pandemic, comparing individual and team-based coping strategies, and discuss what this tells us about building solidarity under extreme strain.

Finally, Jo shares practical, evidence-based strategies for leaders in emergency services to foster resilience, mitigate trauma, and apply these learnings to other high-stakes professions.

Dr. Jo Mildenhall is a paramedic with over 20 years of experience in operational and leadership roles within ambulance services. She holds a master’s degree in Occupational Trauma Psychology from the University of Nottingham and earned her Doctorate from the University of York, focusing on trauma experienced by NHS ambulance staff during the pandemic. Jo is the National Paramedic Mental Health & Wellbeing Lead for the College of Paramedics and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2019 to study paramedic mental health initiatives in Australasia. You can access Jo's research here: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/35774/