Rehabilitation on the frontline: Insights from Mike Palmer

Today, we’re diving into a critical yet often overlooked subject: rehabilitation for pre-hospital staff. The physical and mental demands of frontline work are relentless. Paramedics, HEMS crews, and pre-hospital teams operate in high-stress environments, managing unpredictable situations, heavy workloads, and repeated exposure to trauma. But what happens when the body or mind says, “I can’t keep going”? How do we help our colleagues recover and return, not just functioning, but stronger, healthier, and more resilient?

I’m joined by Mike Palmer, a highly experienced critical care clinician with lived experience of injury and recovery. Together, we’ll unpack the scale of injury across pre-hospital care, identify gaps in current rehabilitation practices, and explore why a structured, personalised approach is essential for long-term sustainability in this field. We’ll also take a personal look at Mike’s own journey, how he navigated his recovery, the obstacles he encountered, and the insights he gained along the way.

But this conversation goes beyond rehabilitation, it’s about reimagining how we care for those who care for others. Whether you're on the frontline, leading a team, or simply passionate about well-being in emergency medicine, this episode offers valuable perspectives on how we can better support, rehabilitate, and retain our pre-hospital workforce.

Useful links that Mike mentions in the episode can be found here:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31537564/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753524000092

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33492279/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35000895/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26371071/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34972683/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26371071/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26281820/

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