Mark's Journey - Digital Service Desk Analyst Engineer

Mark Stowell is a digital service desk analyst engineer who has been with the Trust for 13 years.

In 2010 I saw a job being advertised for an ambulance fleet assistant (AFA) with the Trust in Kempston. I was looking for a job to get me out of the house and out from under the wife's feet after we sold our family business. I had always liked the idea of working for an emergency service, so I decided to go for it.

Following this role, I had the opportunity to go out on the road as an emergency care assistant (ECA) at Letchworth station giving me my first patient facing care role and was then able to progress to an emergency medical technician (EMT), and then eventually a senior emergency medical technician (SEMT).

Starting ECA learning at 43 years old was challenging, and then progressing to my EMT/ SEMT even more so but I was proud to wear the uniform and help look after our patients.

Unfortunately, during the pandemic, I caught COVID-19 quite early on which left me with lasting damage to my health. I was taken off the road as soon as I was diagnosed, and after spending 10 months working on different projects on alternative working duties, I was faced with the realisation that a frontline role was no longer an option for me. Every day was a challenge during the pandemic, and at times it was pretty scary, but we all supported each other and many of us came out stronger and wiser when it started to subside.

I applied for an opening in the IT department as a service desk second line technician, dealing with requests and incidents relating to the users trust IT accounts and hardware, and I'm now a permanent fixture within the IT team.

This role allows me to stay in touch with my old frontline crew mates, whilst helping colleagues with their IT needs within the Trust.

In every role I've been in at the Trust, I've played a part in saving and changing lives in so many ways. I was proud to wear the uniform when I was frontline, and now I'm proud to support our frontline colleagues so they can do their jobs better.

It is difficult to describe how the diverse situations you will face within the Trust will help you find inner strength you never knew you had, but there is always support there for you. You will gain a green family and make friendships for life.