HSE blames funding as it fails to train 48 advanced paramedics

The Health Service Executive (HSE) will not be able to achieve its intended goal of training 48 advanced paramedics this year due to a shortfall in development funding.

Under the Government's reforms of pre-hospital emergency care, personnel from the National Ambulance Service are being provided with advanced training in advanced life-saving skills and techniques.

The new emergency medical technician-advanced (EMT-A) staff will have legal authority to administer a range of medication including cardiac drugs and morphine.

The developments were described by the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, as "the most significant development in pre-hospital emergency care for many years".

However, in a report to the Department of Health on the implementation of its national service plan, the HSE said the "EMT-A programme will not achieve the intended 48 trained EMT-As in 2006 due to a shortfall in development funding".

"We will continue to identify funding requirements to achieve 48 trained EMT-A annually," the report stated.

In a statement to The Irish Times, the HSE said 33 EMT-As would qualify this year.

It said that a further 25 were due to complete their course of study and qualify by early next year.

The statement did not deal with the issue of the shortfall in development funding as set out in the report to the Department of Health.

"The National Ambulance Service is currently training a number of its staff to the role of Emergency Medical Technician-Advanced. In order to achieve this important step, a training programme lasting nine months must be undertaken," the statement said.

"By the end of this year the HSE will have successfully trained 49 people to this position, while another 45 are currently at various stages of the training process.

"This will mean that by the end of 2007, approximately 100 people will be fully qualified as EMT-As.

"In addition, the ambulance service will commence training for a further 48 staff members during 2007," the HSE added.

The HSE said the new position would equip EMT-As with additional life-saving skills.

These include life-saving treatment skills such as a higher level of patient assessment capability, advancement airway techniques and significant medication intervention capacity, including the use of drips.

"This training programme will bring the Irish ambulance service in line with the very best international practice in this field and will contribute to delivering a world class emergency medical service to the Irish public," the HSE added.

The Labour Party spokeswoman on health, Liz McManus, yesterday described the failure to meet the target of having 48 trained EMT-As qualified this year as "disturbing".

Ms McManus said the HSE's policy to develop new services or upskill existing staff to take the pressure off accident and emergency departments was a sensible one.

However, she said that unfortunately sufficient resources were not being invested by the Government to allow these new services, whether provided by EMT-As or advanced nurse practitioners, to be delivered on the ground.