A NORTH Wales nurse has taken to social media to share her fitness journey as she prepares for the Wrexham 10K.
Hayley Whitehead-Wright has spent her career working in ITU but joined the Wales Air Ambulance team exactly three years ago on the 1 of March 2025. The work anniversary coincides with the Charity’s birthday, which marked its 24th anniversary on St. David’s Day.
The 37-year-old mum of one, admits she’s “not the fittest” but after seeing colleagues doing Ironman and walking challenges, she now wants to raise funds for the lifesaving service.
She said: “When I heard that Wales Air Ambulance had charity places for the Wrexham 10K I could not miss the opportunity.
“We rarely have big events like this in our city, so to be able to do something for a cause which is so personal to me, in my home city, is fantastic.”
The Wales Air Ambulance needs to raise £11.2 million every year to keep its helicopters in the air and its rapid response vehicles on the road.
It is delivered via a unique Third Sector and Public Sector partnership. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the charity’s vehicles.
Hayley has been a nurse for sixteen years; she has spent her career working in ITU at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and still does occasional bank shifts, but her full-time role now is with the Wales Air Ambulance.
As a Patient Liaison Nurse, Hayley’s role is to support patients and their families after what is usually a life-altering and sudden traumatic event.
She said: “I am just a normal mum, running around doing the family stuff, chores and working to pay my bills. There never seems to be any spare time.
“But since I started training, I’ve made sure I get just thirty minutes a day and it is making such a huge difference not just to my fitness but my wellbeing too.”
She continued: “I suffer with anxiety and have for many years and getting outdoors has really helped me.
“The past 18 months have been tough for our family too. I lost my dad and then we lost my mother-in-law. So, it has been rough.
“The way I cope is by keeping myself busy, giving myself a project and this came along at the right time.”
Hayley is a Patient Liaison Nurse with the air ambulance and she and her colleague Jo Yeoman, run the after-care service.
She said: “It is truly humbling working with the patients and relatives who come into our lives at the Charity.
“It is an honour to help them understand what has happened to them or a loved one.
“I also get to work alongside our clinicians, who are incredible humans – what they have to do on a daily basis is extraordinary.”
Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury. For the patient, this can mean hours saved when compared to standard care and is proven to greatly improve survival and early recovery.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
Hayley said: “When I started my fitness journey, to raise funds for the Charity, I didn’t expect to get the reaction I have.
“I normally don’t like being in front of the camera, but I started doing videos on Facebook to tell people about what I am doing and raise awareness.
“People who I’ve never met have been sending me messages, and I’ve made lots of new friends.
“My first run, I was joined by my five-year-old son Sam, who is hugely proud. But as the distances have got longer, I’ve headed out with my sister, nephew and other girls who’ve signed up to do the Wrexham 10K.”
She added: “I know I am overweight, I am unfit and I’m a busy working mum and partner, but I am getting out there, to get the job done. It’s hard, yes, but I am so motivated now because I have seen a real improvement in my fitness.”
Hayley has seen firsthand the difference that the Wales Air Ambulance makes. She said: “You don’t know when you’re ever going to need the air ambulance. I hope that you will never, ever need it.
“But if you do, rest assured our team will be there for you, whenever and wherever you need us.
“That’s why it is so important to fundraise for the Charity, I didn’t realise the extent of the service myself until I worked for it, and there are people out there who probably don’t realise what we do. I just hope that my videos will help raise awareness and encourage more people to donate.”
The Wrexham 10K will take place on Sunday 27 of April 2025.
Dr Sue Barnes, Wales Air Ambulance’s Chief Executive, said: “We are hugely proud of Hayley as she takes on a huge fitness challenge to raise funds for our Charity.
“The team do an incredible job every day for the people of Wales, but when you see them challenging themselves physically too, in this way, it is very moving.
“I am looking forward to Hayley’s video updates. The whole team of our team are rooting for her and wish her the best of luck with the Wrexham 10K.”
