By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
FOR most of his 25 years working for Ambulance Victoria, Ralph Casey was only ever a phone call away.
The Endeavour Hills father remembered being called to an emergency in the middle of Christmas lunch several years ago and reported quickly for duty.
This ceaseless dedication to the organisation for two and a half decades will see Ralph, 61, awarded with an Ambulance Service medal today (Monday) during the nation’s Australia Day celebrations.
Now on long service leave and nearing retirement, Ralph spoke about his career with open nostalgia.
“It’s far beyond what I thought it would be, I had a lot of passion for it,” he said.
“It’s great to have the recognition of people who support paramedics on the frontline.
“Often they are the quiet achievers.”
Throughout his career, as the Manager of Technical Services, Ralph has been instrumental in providing communications support to Ambulance Victoria.
The Field Services Team leader has been responsible for aircraft communications, motorcycle automatic vehicle location technology, radio communications for ambulance dispatching and IT for major events.
“I was quite shocked and humbled that some of the other paramedics had nominated me for this,” Ralph said, referring to the service medal.
“I was just flabbergasted, I couldn’t think of a better way to finish my career.”
Ralph was instrumental in enhancing Ambulance Victoria’s analogue radio capability, helping to develop a crucial inter-operability between different emergency services in the state.
And he often gave invaluable assistance to paramedics on the front lines.
“Several times I went out with paramedics on the road and I went on a couple shifts on the helicopter, working at the coal face,” Ralph said.
“When you’re with those guys you realise how they do such an exceptional job.”
Ralph recalled an incident which for him encapsulated the importance of the job he had committed his life to.
“One day I did a shift on the helicopter when we attended a man who was severely injured, and we saved his life,” he said.
“I tended there with a MICA paramedic, assisting and pumping blood back into his system and transporting him back to The Alfred.
“He was hurt, critically injured, and we helped him survive – that’s something that really sticks in my mind.”
During most of his 25 years Ralph was on call 24/7.
His wife, Christine, and daughters Rachel and Tiffany shared their husband and father selflessly with Ambulance Victoria, buoyed by his passion for the job.
But now with one eye on retirement, Ralph, originally born near Dubbo in New South Wales, is excited to soon finally have the opportunity to travel freely.
Along with his brothers Howard and Peter, Ralph has planned to return to his home town, a place he hasn’t seen in 40 years.
“Retirement is when you stop living at work and start working at living,” Ralph said.
