‘I’ll miss interaction with patients’ says John on retirement

Peggy Murtagh was the person who encouraged John O’Dowd to apply to the Ambulance Service 26 years ago, and he fondly remembered her on Thursday, his last day at work before retirement.

John had 41 years of service in healthcare. He began as an MTA, multi-task attendant, at St Mary’s, Mullingar in 1985, and retires as a paramedic. “At that stage, everybody did everything, a wide variety of jobs, from direct patient care to delivery of equipment – some of our duties were security when we were working at night time as well.

“I had many happy years in St Mary’s. I remember it so well, I made great friends, lifelong friends, and Peggy Murtagh is one woman I hold in high regard. She was a ward sister there and she encouraged me to apply. She said to me, ‘you can go for the Ambulance Service, John’.”

With Peggy’s encouragement, John went for and passed an interview, then on to Mary’s Hospital in the Phoenix Park, where the National Ambulance Service had a training school. “There was a lovely group that trained together,” he recalls.

In John’s day the training involved blocks studying in college and time doing practical work “out on the road for experience”. He contrasted that with the modern system, “where to join the National Ambulance Service now, it’s equivalent to a four-year degree course”.

Making the point that the standard of education is high and people come out highly qualified, John said the delivery of service has changed so much over the years, and “we embraced everything that was put forward to us”.

“It was an interesting career. I enjoyed it, met some great friends. I’ve always worked in Mullingar, and I can say the staff in Mullingar are incredible, Jerry, station manager, and supervisors, May and Colin. And I see some retired friends here now, (at the Ambulance Station for a farewell party on Thursday) colleagues and friends.”

Training is an continuous process for paramedics and other professionals in the Ambulance Service, and John has enjoyed keeping up to date with new drugs, new skills and techniques.

Asked for a standout memory of his four decades of work, John returns to the theme of the people he met and worked with and the patients he cared for.

“I have had some great memories. I’ve worked with some great people, and my experience overall from working with the Midland Health Board and now with the National Ambulance Service is one of satisfaction.

“I’ve done shift work for 41 years now, and it does take its toll on you, but I will miss the interaction with patients.

“I think the best people to make judgement will be the clients or patients, and their families, and if they’re happy with the delivery of service, I’m very happy, that’s what I get my job satisfaction from – when I see good outcomes, when you see people who are satisfied, and if people write in sometimes, it would be to compliment us for what we’ve done for them, that we made a difference.

“It’s not always big emergency calls. Somebody asked me one time to describe our job, and I said, well, the easiest way to describe it is that we do everything from emergency childbirth to death, and everything in between.” John acknowledges that there aren’t always good outcomes, but he and his colleagues do their best. “I know when I leave here today that my conscience is clear, I know I’ve done my best, and I’m very happy about that.”

He went on to thank his wife Susan and family (four children and 12 grandchildren) for the support he has had at home. He said that when somebody works in emergency service, it’s not easy for home life, as there are unscheduled late finishes, 12-hour shifts, work days and nights. Working in healthcare is a “family trait” as John put it; his mother trained as a nurse, and his brother Frankie, who passed away in September last, was in the medical profession, his sisters Teresa, Michelle, Siobhan, brother Pat, “and my own kids – three of them are nursing, and one is a health care assistant”.

He is prepared for the transition to retirement and looks forward to a holiday in Lanzarote with Susan, then to spending more time with family.

He has had to be fit for the job, and played for Mullingar Athletic till the age of 52, so he will remain active and plans to join the leisure centre at one of the local hotels, where he’ll go swimming in the mornings. He played golf and pitch and putt, was an underage coach at St Loman’s GAA, and now enjoys bowls (“in the Mullingar Bowls Club – lovely bunch of people up there, good friends, and I enjoy that”).

Concluding, John reiterated his thanks to Susan and the rest of the family, to Jerry Sheehan, Colin Petticrew and May Gilsenan and the rest of the team at Mullingar Ambulance Centre.

‘John always put his patients and colleagues first’

Jerry Sheehan, the senior officer at Mullingar Ambulance Station, speaking on behalf of the team there, paid tribute to their retiring colleague, John O’Dowd at his party on Thursday.

“I’d describe John as a model employee in the sense that he was always the one to put the patient, his colleagues first, always professional, dedicated, in everything he has done.

“John would always be a good leader within the station in terms of being the one that people could sound off with, the one that people would refer to for guidance.

“It’s because of all those years of experience, and it’s because of himself – because he has it within himself to always be looking to do the right thing in terms of the patient, in terms of the job, and in terms of his colleagues.”

Jerry thanked John for his service and wished him a long and healthy retirement.

Jerry’s full title is operations resource manager, National Ambulance Service North Leinster, and he said the Mullingar Ambulance Station has been operating since October 2022. He said there are 24 on the team and it is a fine modern base with good access to the main roads and the town centre. Most of the staff are advanced paramedics, and there are also a number of EMTs (emergency medical technicians).