Michelle Skillington Paramedic Practitioner South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) Shift: Hospital to Community

When someone calls for help, the question is not just how quickly can we respond, it is where should that person be, and who is best placed to care for them? For Michelle Skillington, a Paramedic Practitioner at South East Coast Ambulance Service, that question sits at the heart of everything she does.

Based out of Paddock Wood Make Ready Centre, Michelle works as part of SECAmb’s Unscheduled Care Navigation Hub, assessing patients referred into the West Kent hub and working closely with care homes, community services and multidisciplinary teams to determine the most appropriate pathway for each individual. Her goal is straightforward but significant: to ensure patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time  and to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions wherever possible.

Through early clinical assessment and coordinated decision-making, Michelle helps people remain safely at home when that is the right option, and ensures those who do need hospital care are directed to the correct service first time. It is a role that sits at the intersection of urgent and community care bridging two worlds that, not long ago, rarely spoke to each other.

Michelle sees the NHS as an organisation that is always striving to do better. For her, that means continuously learning, reflecting on her practice, and looking for ways to deliver more joined-up, person-centred care. It means treating every patient with kindness, courage and integrity, and making sure people feel truly listened to at their most vulnerable.

Being part of SECAmb and the wider NHS, she says, means being part of something much bigger than any one person — supporting individuals, families and communities, and making a genuine difference every day.