Andy Collen
Consultant Paramedic
Andy Collen is currently a Consultant Paramedic at South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. He is also the Medicines and Prescribing Project Lead for the College of Paramedics, working with NHS England and other Allied Health Professional (AHP) Professional Bodies on the proposal to extend nonmedical prescribing, including the work to introduce independent prescribing for advanced paramedics. He has been in the NHS since 1989, and progressed through a traditional ambulance service career, qualifying as a paramedic in 2000. After qualifying as a specialist paramedic in 2006, he left the ambulance service to practice in a Walk In Centre in order to develop his skills. He returned to the ambulance service full time in 2009 to lead the specialist paramedic programmes and to work on improving professional careers and clinical leadership. He completed a MSc in 2013 and was appointed to his consultant post in 2015. Andy sits on the Ambulance Lead Paramedic Group and the National Ambulance Urgent and Emergency Care Group. He previously contributed to the JRCALC guidelines and the UK edition of Emergency Care in the Streets. He undertakes sessional lectures on decision making at universities in the South East region and has presented extensively on the prescribing project across the UK. When not working in a professional capacity, Andy is a drummer and music fan. Most importantly, he enjoys spending time with his family.
