Extreme Medics: Meet the resilient men and women of one of Australia’s toughest ambulance units

They are the dramatic untold stories of some of Australia’s most resilient paramedics. Their jobs are isolated, dangerous, exhausting, incredibly rewarding and ultimately life saving. They’ve been punched, kicked and dragged but nothing will stop them from responding to people they’ve been called to help.

• Extreme Medics Part One: Australia’s most courageous first-responders
• Part Two: Behind the scenes of a paramedic rescue
• Part Three: Extreme Medics make life or death decisions

The life of a paramedic is tough, dangerous, exhausting, challenging but incredibly rewarding.

Surrounded by thousands of kilometres of merciless desert, these are the untold stories of courage, compassion, dedication, resilience and inspiration of a caring group of remarkable and selfless first responders in two of the toughest towns in Australia.

They are the Extreme Medics.

Journalist Kristin Shorten introduced us to the Australian military’s Voodoo Medics, now meet the men and women of Northern Territory’s Critical Response Unit in our eight-part series.

Violence stalks the brave medics of the St John’s CRU where many patients are affected by alcohol, drugs or both.

They have been punched, kicked and dragged out of their ambulances but it doesn’t deter them from trying to save the lives of those they’ve been called to help.

Paramedic Caitlin Little reveals she has been seriously assaulted three times in four years, the worst by a man in a drug psychosis from using ice.

“I was thrown on to the ground, up against the ambulance and then into the ambulance,” Caitlin said.

The threat of being attacked isn’t the only danger. Alice Springs is surrounded by four searing deserts. It’s extremely isolated, unforgiving and deadly, presenting an exceptional set of challenges few first-responders face anywhere else in the world.

Paul Reeves is the only qualified Intensive Care Paramedic (ICP) in Alice Springs.

He is training and mentoring his younger colleague Caitlin.

• Part Four: Ambulance rescue like something from a TV drama
• Part Five: How Extreme Medics prepare to save lives
• Part Six: Overcoming isolation and heat to save lives

Paul Reeves is a paramedic in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

► Voodoo Medics takes you inside the secret world of Australia’s elite frontline combat medics. They are fighting soldiers whose first job it is to save lives rather than take them. It is a stunning eight-part video documentary unlike anything you have seen before. Watch it now.

Originally published as Extreme Medics: Meet the resilient men and women of one of Australia’s toughest ambulance units