Paramedic Harriet Moore was driving the ambulance from Narooma to Moruya Hospital on the NSW South Coast in May 2023, when her vehicle hit a car in a head on crash.
“I remember all of it … the airbags going off … looking down to see my partner who was [originally] in the back with the patient lying next to me in the front between the seats,” Moore recalled.
The accident occurred after the driver of the car travelling at about 100km/h failed to take a bend.
“The other driver was in cardiac arrest … had significant bleeding from facial injuries, and I didn’t believe there was anything I could do to save their life.”
Despite her own injuries, including a broken foot and bruised ribs, she continued to provide care, helping her partner, a paediatric patient and their carer, out of the ambulance.
“No-one turns up to work and thinks they are going to be in an accident and need their own services which is what happened,” Moore said.
“Once I did my own assessment, I knew in order for us to get help, I had to switch back to being a paramedic to update our control centre … so they could dispatch the correct resources,” she continued.
“When that was done, I could finally sit down and take a breath.”
Simon Douch was the first to respond to Moore’s radio call.
“She sounded quite distressed, which was unusual, so we knew the best thing was to get to the crash scene as soon as possible, which was 10 minutes away,” he said.
“The seriousness of the incident became pretty clear pretty quickly.”
Moore’s wife, was among the crew that responded, which “added another level of emotion and difficulty to what had happened”.
They worked together to give first aid to all involved in the accident.
“Harriet did an absolutely incredible job until that point. Like being in a collision, but still having the clarity of thought to treat other people in such a methodical way,” Douch said.
“It’ll be something I’ll remember forever.”
Fortunately, the patient and their carer only sustained minor injuries.
Moore and her colleague were flown helicopter to Canberra Hospital for further treatment.
Now, the paramedic has received a top industry award, the Commissioner’s Conspicuous Service Medal, for her quick-thinking and selfless act.
The Regional NSW Ambulance Awards Ceremony took place at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium, with family, friends and colleagues present.
NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan said Moore deserved the honour.
“It’s an extraordinary story of being injured in a motor vehicle accident that could have taken her own life … and being able to balance that between her own emotions versus the care of patients,” he said.
“It sounds like the rest of the team showed up and did an equally incredible job of supporting her and managing this complex scene.”
Moore was overwhelmed with emotion and tried to hold back tears … remembering somebody lost their son”.
“It’s still an emotional situation … I just turned up to work, was involved in a car accident and needed an ambulance,” she said.
“I don’t think that warrants a medal, but it is what it is.”
Image: NSW Ambulance
