Dr Mark Byers

OBE

Trustee

Mark is a retired Army doctor currently working for the Great North Air Ambulance as a Consultant Helicopter Emergency doctor. He has over 35 years’ experience in pre-hospital emergency care in and out of the Army.

He wrote the course built on his extensive experience as a doctor on the battlefields of Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia having recognised that it is the simple things that saves lives and that only a minimum amount of equipment is needed to achieve this.

Dr Will Passmore

Trustee

Will is a consultant in emergency medicine and prehospital emergency medicine at Northumbria NHS Trust. He is also Deputy Medical Director of the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

Moira Fisher

Trustee

Moira came to Cumbria in 1987 from a hill farm in the Scottish Borders to start her nurse training at the Cumberland Infirmary. After qualifying she worked in the Intensive Care and Coronary Care Units at Carlisle before training and working as a Midwife in Dumfries.

During this time, she married Robin and had her two sons. For many years Moira worked in General Practice specialising in improving management, care, and outcomes for patients with Cardiovascular Disease.

Tragically in November 2004 Moira's brother John was killed in a farm accident. Moira understands how challenging and dangerous working with livestock and machinery is and is passionate to improve first aid training and practices on UK farms.

Moira hung up her uniform a few years ago to help Robin develop their farming business and they with their son Tom farm just outside Longtown in North Cumbria.

Josie Mitchinson

Trustee, Co-ordinator & Course Director

Josie has been brought up on a broiler and beef farm outside of Carlisle, she has always been surrounded by farming. After finishing Newton Rigg college Josie completed her BSc in paramedic practice. Following this she worked for the North East Ambulance Service for 4 years before transferring ‘back home’ to the North West Ambulance Service in 2023. 

Josie was a keen member of young farmers and is enjoying being able to mix the two main parts of her life by delivering this training, understanding it from both sides has been beneficial and seeing how easily and quickly things can go wrong both personally and professionally.

Dr George Russam

MBBS, BSc, MFRRHHEd

Trustee & Course Director

George is an Anaesthetic Registrar working in NHS hospitals across the North of England, and is engaged in research exploring the role of bystanders in the management of trauma casualties. He is an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Lancashire, delivering F3As rural health and agricultural trauma course for medical students.

Sue Whiteley

Trustee

Jill Dunglinson

Administrator

Having worked in the agricultural sector all my career for various organisations including been the Cumberland Show Secretary and currently for SRUC, I am well aware of the dangers of working in rural environments and the incidents and accidents that can and do occur. I am pleased to be able to help in running such an important and vital course, by looking after the administration aspects.