Tom Connellan

It's never you, until it is

Tom grew up on a farm in regional NSW, helping his parents on the property. Working on other farms during the school holidays and his experience with his parents shaped his views on safety.

Like many farmers, Tom's parents and relatives lived by a 'she'll be right' attitude when it came to safety. Since becoming a paramedic, he has learned this is far from an ideal outlook. Stationed in North West Victoria, Tom has attended incidents on farms where farmers feel a sense of guilt for calling an ambulance. Instead they typically drive themselves to urgent care or ED, which is not encouraged.

Growing up on a farm, Tom's dad placed high importance on having the correct safety gear. Everything from simple PPE to making sure that you wore a helmet when you were on the motorbike.