Ep 292 - Leadership, Culture and Psychological Safety in Pre-Hospital Care with Anna Dobbie at Trauma 2030

In this episode of the St Emlyn’s Podcast, Iain Beardsell speaks with Anna Dobbie, consultant in emergency medicine and pre-hospital care, and Clinical Lead for London HEMS.

Recorded at Trauma 2030 at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, the conversation explores what it means to lead exceptional teams in one of the most high-pressure areas of emergency medicine. Anna reflects on six years as Clinical Lead for London HEMS, sharing lessons on leadership, culture, psychological safety, difficult conversations, managing strong personalities, and supporting clinicians to do their best work.

The discussion also touches on the unique nature of pre-hospital care, where teams move rapidly between downtime and high-intensity clinical decision-making, and where trust, openness and mutual respect are essential. Anna describes the importance of making sure all voices are heard, not just the loudest, and explains why leaders need to be consistent, approachable and willing to have honest conversations when things do not go as well as they should.

Anna also reflects on learning leadership on the job, the value of formal leadership training, the challenge of maintaining boundaries when you care deeply about a service, and the relationship between London’s Air Ambulance and its supporting charity.

Finally, Iain and Anna look ahead to the future of trauma care and pre-hospital medicine, including research, ECMO, marginal gains, quality improvement, and the continuing ambition to reduce preventable deaths from trauma.

Learning from podcasts?

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Trauma 2030

TRAUMA 2030 united experts and innovators to shape the future of trauma care. Over two days, it explored breakthroughs in science, systems, and frontline practice, fostering collaboration across disciplines. The symposium aimed to inspire research, inform policy, and build a bold roadmap for trauma care worldwide.