Deployment of Staff - Clarification
Recently concerns have been expressed about deployment of frontline emergency ambulances. An intern paramedic has advised that he has been required to work alongside another employee, whom he alleges is not on the Pre-hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) register. The intern’s specific query was “How is this possible and where do I stand if something goes wrong in the back of the ambulance and will it affect my licence?” This intern was informed that he is responsible and accountable for his own practice only and that if he complies with his status on the register and relevant PHECC Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) then he has nothing to fear. The intern was also advised that he is not responsible for the crewing of frontline ambulances.
I would like to highlight that the practice of deploying any individual on a frontline emergency ambulance, who is not a PHECC-registered practitioner, exposes the service provider. Three conditions must be met to enable frontline emergency ambulance service staff to practice.
- Firstly, s/he must be current on the PHECC register of prehospital emergency care practitioners.
- Secondly, s/he must be working on behalf of a CPG-approved service provider.
- And finally his/her scope of practice is governed by their status on the register in association with the relevant PHECC CPGs and the corresponding approved medications lists.
Failure to simultaneously meet ALL three requirements means that s/he is not authorised to perform any of the interventions contained in the PHECC CPGs. Any administration of medications by such individuals would be outside the law.
As Registrar, this matter is a cause of concern. I must counsel that deployment of staff, who are not PHECC-registered practitioners, in frontline emergency ambulances is unsafe.
Barry O’Sullivan – Registrar, October, 2011. |