A LIFE-SAVING paramedic who has served the NHS for more than 17 years has released a new educational children’s picture book inspired by his experiences.

Stanway resident John Robinson came up with the idea for his character Paramedic Pete in 2017 whilst on a family holiday with his wife and two children.

Three years later and in the midst of a global pandemic, Paramedic Pete and the Overflowing Ambulance has been released to the public for the first time.

The book will be the first in a franchise focusing on Pete, a paramedic in the fictional English village of Royal Tuftsbury, and a collection of accident-prone characters.

John brought the book’s release date forward so Pete could be used as the figurehead for a series of educational posters to help give children information about hand-washing and the spread of Covid-19.

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John said: “My employer knows only too well I love my little projects at work and this time I thought I would do one for myself.

“For two to three years I have been thinking about a possible children’s book and noticed we don’t seem to have many new UK based children’s medical characters.

“I understand the debut book is the most important one as it whets the appetite for further editions.

“If you have never written a book these skills need to be learnt and seldom can you just start and be good enough. This is why I commissioned help.”

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John pulled together a team of helpers, including award-winning illustrator Dan Harris, to help him create the finish product, writing the story himself based on his own knowledge of the NHS.

He said: “I have an amazing team and set of advisers behind me, from a writing consultant, award-winning illustrator, book formatter, legal advice, to family and friends and their child reading testers.

“Our first edition has taken longer than expected due to Covid-19 delays and branding issues, however, going forward each book edition will take around four months of production work.”

Being a paramedic had been John’s dream since the age of 12.

During his teenage years he volunteered with St John’s Ambulance, dedicating thousands of hours of voluntary service to helping the community around Braintree, where he used to live.

During this time he attended the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday pageant and as Essex’s Cadet of the Year John also went to Buckingham Palace.

But in 2002, he left the voluntary group in order to start work on his dream career.

Since becoming a qualified paramedic in 2005 he has responded to roughly 15,000 emergency 999 calls, rising through the ranks to station supervisor and now a shift manager in mid Essex.

John, 40, said: “I have worked in the ambulance service for around 17 years.

“I started as a trainee, then became an emergency medical technician, paramedic, station supervisor, then shift manager.

“As the shift manager I support road crews with day-to-day service delivery and also attend incidents severe in nature to manage the scene.”

Paramedic Pete’s release is the culmination of years of hard work for John and his team.

He said: “The book is available in Kindle and paperback formats online via Amazon.

“I personally have stock to sell and we are in the process of expanding our website. I hope to release in the next few week an e-commerce solution to buy direct. We are also exploring other formats of the book; such as audible version to make my book more accessible.

“I am looking for retailers interested in either retailing our books or becoming a collection point to put book sales revenue back into the community.”

He added: “We are offering schools, NHS sites and any non-profit organisations access to a limited amount of free ‘Wash your hand stickers’ to support children in washing their hands.”

Visit paramedicpete.uk.