A ‘star’ medic who trained at the Countess of Chester Hospital is flying high as an onboard doctor in the air ambulance piloted by Prince William in his new role.
Dr Gemma Mullen, from Willaston, and the Duke of Cambridge look set to make a great team as they begin working together at the East Anglian Air Ambulance service.
And both are enjoying happiness in their personal lives. On May 2, the prince became a father for the second time, to Princess Charlotte, and exactly a month later Dr Mullen got married to her doctor husband.
Dr Mullen is affectionately remembered by former colleagues because of her outstanding qualities as a promising young doctor.
Dr Virginia Clough, retired medical director at the Countess - the hospital named after Prince William's mother Diana - recalls presenting Gemma with the President’s Prize for her winning presentation when she was president of the Chester and North Wales Medical Council back in 2011.
Dr Clough, who was not part of the judging panel, says Gemma undertook part of her training at the city hospital when she was a junior anaethestist.
She said: “I met Gemma that night when I was president. I gave her the prize for the best presentation and then she went back on call. It was the best presentation by a mile. She’s a star.”
The skills she learned as a trainee anaethestist would be invaluable in her role as a flying doctor dealing with traumatic injuries, said Dr Clough.
“She will be intubating seriously ill people and she can do that,” added Dr Clough, who knows Gemma’s parents.
Gemma’s husband is another doctor, Tim Astles, an intensive care consultant at Aintree Hospital who formerly worked at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, both in Liverpool. They married in her home county of Cheshire and then holidayed on Italy’s Amalfi coast.
Dr Mullen, who bears a passing resemblance to the Duchess of Cambridge, was revealed on Monday as one of the doctors who will accompany William on rescue missions in his new job. National newspapers have remarked on her ‘Kate looks’ but some members of the public said it was an ‘insult’ to compare her to the duchess.
Having studied medicine at Manchester University, last year she joined the London Air Ambulance service and went on to spend six months saving lives all over the capital. She moved to the East Anglian Air Ambulance earlier this year.
Her father Nick, managing director of a property company, and mother Heather live in a house behind large gates in Willaston. There was nobody at home when The Chronicle called.
