A former paramedic said her colleagues would not get in the back of an ambulance with her after her sexuality was 'outed'. Jackie Bell, who now works as 111 Head of Service at the North West Ambulance Service, said a male colleague previously told fellow workers that she was a lesbian, despite trying to keep her relationship with another female colleague a secret.
Jackie was working as a paramedic at the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service (WYMAS), when it happened. She had given up a career as a physiotherapist at Leeds General Infirmary to do the job.
Despite not initially realising she was gay, she went on to meet a female colleague and they embarked on a relationship which, for a time, they wanted to keep 'under wraps'.
However, a male colleague later 'outed' the pair. Jackie said the experience was 'really difficult' and has left 'some damage'. She claimed the attitudes of older road staff made things more challenging for her at the time, from refusing to get into the back of an ambulance with her or making comments and calling her nicknames.
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As part of LGBTQ+ History Month, Jackie, who went on to join the North West Ambulance Service in her management role in 2015, has bravely shared her story - adding that barriers do still exist, both for women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, with a lack of senior role models for gay and straight women.
"We tried to keep things under wraps - but we were outed by a male colleague"
“I was not ‘out’ when I joined the ambulance service, as I had not, at that time, realised myself that I was gay – yes very naïve. I even had some boyfriends in the ambulance service in my first 18 months," she said. "I did, however, meet my first lesbian partner in the service, two years after joining. She had just separated from her husband and we tried to keep things under wraps for a while, but we were outed by a male colleague.
“Being outed is a really difficult experience and leaves some damage, even today with regards to trust. I found out who my real friends were and valued them. I also found some new allies that I would probably have never crossed paths with had I not been outed in the manner it occurred.”
Reflecting on those early days and the reactions she received after colleagues learnt of her sexuality, she added: “Looking back, the attitudes of the older road staff were interesting. I kept asking myself was it because I was a direct entry paramedic, or female, or a lesbian?
"Crew members would not get in the back of the ambulance to help me"
"I experienced behaviours like my crew mate not getting in the back of the ambulance to help me with the patient, driving off when I was trying to cannulate, comments to make you feel uncomfortable when you walk in the mess room and nicknames. Some would say that this was my rite of passage into my 'membership' within my ambulance station, I think I disagree. I was not alone in this 'induction' however, the subject matter and level of bullying varied.”
After Jackie left WYMAS, which became part of the newly formed Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust in 2006, she joined the North West Ambulance Service. By this time, she was in a civil partnership with her partner and was comfortable with her sexuality.
However, she felt that people's attitudes towards her had changed. Not because of her sexuality, but because she was a female in a senior leadership role.
"I found more overt behaviours exhibited towards me for being a woman when I joined NWAS than being a lesbian. I was not on the road however, and in a leadership role, so the situation was different. To a degree, I believe some barriers still do exist," she said.
"The lack of senior role models for women, gay or straight, unconscious bias at all levels in the organisation and tokenism are all still issues. I feel that the LGBT+ Network has gone a long way to working within NWAS to educate and drive changes in behaviours and attitude, however, does this permeate throughout the organisation? Definitely not yet, but the network is making huge strides.
“The role of senior management in leading this change process can’t be over-emphasised. Where senior managers do not commit to the idea of creating a culture of respect and don’t take the necessary steps to change their own inappropriate behaviours, it won’t happen."
Responding to Jackie's claims about her treatment as an entry level paramedic in the late 1990s, a spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: “We are committed to having services and employment practices that are accessible and inclusive for the diverse communities we serve and the people we employ or who volunteer at the Trust.
“Significant progress has been made since Yorkshire Ambulance Service was formed in 2006. We have a People Strategy in place, along with working towards the NHS People Promise, which prioritises an approach to equality, diversity and inclusion that goes beyond legal requirements.
"We actively celebrate and support diversity within our workforce and this includes having a number of staff support network groups. Our LGBT+ staff network has been in place for some years and is well embedded and supported.”
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