Elections 2012

In accordance with Clause 52.1 of the Articles of Association of the College of Paramedics notice is hereby given of the positions for election to enable formal declarations to be made at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the College of Paramedics on Friday 22nd June 2012.

Please note that eligible members are full members who are currently subscribed with the College of Paramedics.  Therefore only full and subscribed members are eligible to stand and to vote.  Members wishing to stand for election will need to receive nomination from four full and subscribed members.

A notice of the vacant positions, the Articles of association and the Position Description for Council Members are available as related links to this notice by clicking on the items on the right (you need to be logged in).

Great Western Regional Group

Great Western Regional Group meeting 25th April 2012

The next meeting of the ‘Great Western Regional Group’ of the ‘College of Paramedics’ will take place in Bristol (meet in Bristol Station Crew room) on Wednesday 25^th April at 19:30hrs. All members are welcome and there is a lot to discuss especially our involvement in AMBULEX Wednesday 13^th / Thursday 14^th June 2012 in Moreton in Marsh.

We also have two study evenings coming up in April. On Tuesday 17^th April the subject will be ‘Obstetric Care’ focussing on normal delivery and breech birth and on Thursday 26^th April the subject will be ‘Paediatric Care’. Both sessions will be held in association with Frank Patrick (PA Weston General Hospital) at ‘The Academy Hall, Weston General Hospital, Grange Rd, Weston Super Mare, Somerset, BS23 4TQ at 19:30 hrs. There is no need to book – cost £2 members and £3 non-members. For further information see attachment  or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) 

John Wood, Chair GWRG.

Great Western Regional Group evening 'Great Sucess'

The Great Debate held by GWRG on March 14th was a 'Great Success'. Both teams made a well thought out, evidence based case, for their respective sides of the argument as to  'Is there a place for doctors in UK Pre Hospital Emergency Care' . This was followed by lively discussion and full audience participation, so much so, that the chairperson was forced to bring the proceedings to a close in order for everyone to get home at a reasonable hour! The GWRG would like to thank Dr Dindi Gill (Emergency Medicine Consultant, Morriston Hopsital, Swansea), Dr Curtis Whittle (Consultant Anaethetist / Intensivist, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol), Mr Mike Page (Critical Care Paramedic, Great Western Air Ambulance and Mr Adam Leyland (Operational Station Manager, Great Western Ambulance Service) for their participation in this event.

Grateful thanks also goes to St John Ambulance, Gloucester Division for their kind hospitality' and all those who attended the evening.

John Wood Chair GWRG.

Great Western Regional Group Partnership announcement

GWRG are very happy to announce that we have entered a partnership with Frank Patrick (Physician Assistant at Weston General Hospital) to support a regular series of study evenings throughout 2012. The dates and subject for the evenings are below and members will also receive notification via email. The evenings run from 1930hrs - 2130hrs and cost just £2 for college members (£3 non college members). Membership cards will be needed to qualify for the discount. The venue is The Academy Hall, Weston General Hospital, Grange Rd, Uphill, Weston Super Mare, Somerset, BS23 4TQ. 

Certificates will be provided for portfolio purposes. No need to book.

Please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with any questions.

April 5th - Urological Emergencies - See download

April 17th - Neonatal Review

April 26th - Paediatric Update

May 17th - Subject to be confirmed (Andrew Newton)

May 23rd - Advanced ECG

June 28th - Gastroenterology

July 12th - Stoke Review

August 28th - Subject to be confirmed

                  Great Western Regional Group Meeting 13th February and Study Evening 13th March 2012 

 GThe ThThe Gre at Western Regional Group of the College of Paramedics are holding their monthly meeting on Monday 13th February at St John HQ, Commerce Rd, Staverton, Gloucester GL2 9QJ at 1930hrs.

All members are welcome to attend. We have lots on the agenda to discuss this month not least final arrangements for our 'Great Debate'.

This debate will be held on Wednesday March 14th at the same time and venue.

The topic 'Is there a place for doctors in UK Pre Hospital Emergency Care' will be debated by two opposing teams made up of a specialist paramedic and consultant doctor.

This will be a lively night with audience participation encouraged. For full details see poster, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit our facebook page. This is a free event for college members but an email to indicate intended attendance would be appreciated - John Wood (Chair GWRG CoP).'

Great Western Region Study Day.  Tuesday December 13th.

We are pleased to announce our final study day of 2011, which again is in collaboration with UWE, Bristol.

Once again we have a great line up of speakers and subjects, including:

• C-Spine, What were we doing? 
  
• Maternal Collapse
  
• Paramedic Psychological Resilience
  
• Expert Witness; Case Histories
  
• Emergency Obsteric Care 
  
• MERT Team paramedics in Afghanistan
  

Entry is a mere £10 for members or £40 for non-members (includes lunch)

The event starts at 9am for 9.30 untl 4pm

All very welcome!

Watch this space for information on future CPD events planned by the Gt Western Regional Group.  We have several ideas and welcome your thoughts.  You are also very welcome to attend a regional group meeting.  For further details please contact the Chair, John Wood at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Great Western Regional Group Meeting 25th October 2011

The College of Paramedics 'Great Western Regional Group' is holding their next meeting in Wiltshire at RAF Lyneham.

The date is October 25th at 1930hrs and all college members are welcome.

The group exists to promote the work of the college at local level through increasing membership, raising awareness of professional issues, supporting station champions and organising CPD events.

If you wish to attend please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to confirm, as arrangements will be made for access to the base.

Look forward to seeing you there - John Wood Chair GWRG

Great Western Regional Group Study evening success!

The Great Western Regional Group (GWRG) held their first study evening at North Bristol Operations Centre (NBOC) in Bristol last Tuesday and what a night it turned out to be! Over 70 paramedics attended from far afield as Manchester, Oxford and the South Coast to participate in the event which examined the career pathway for paramedics.

The feedback from the attendees was excellent and the event was deemed a great success.

The GWRG would like to thank Great Western Ambulance Service, in particular Chris Cooper (Special Operations / HART manager), for making NBOC available to host this event.

The next meeting of the GWRG is to be held in Wiltshire sector at RAF Lyneham on 25^th October (1930hrs) and the next CPD event at UWE on 13^th December. For further details on this or more information on the College or group please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), visit Great Western Regional group facebook page – John Wood (Chair GRWG CoP).

Great Western Regional Group Free Study evening 27th September 2011 at 19.30hrs

Venue; North Bristol Operations Centre, 400 North Bristol Park, Filton, Bristol BS34 7QH

GWRG invite all College members to a free study evening. A number of local speakers will explore what it means to be a paramedic and examine the COP career framework. If you are interested in career progression and professional issues then please come along.

Sessions will cover:

The 'Paramedic' as a professional

Specialist Practice (Urgent Care/Critical Care)

The Military Paramedic

Advanced Practice

Open forum/Q and A

Please attend and help shape the future of our profession and advance patient care (and it's good for CPD too!!).

For further information e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or go to Great Western Regional Group facebook page.

Next Meeting 23rd August 2011

Nova Scotia in Hotwells, Bristol BS1 6XJ at 19.30hrs

We will be discussing our forthcoming study evening, the regional CPD event to be held in December, Station Champions and more.

The proposed agenda has been posted here and on the COP Great Western Regional Group Facebook page. If you have any questions please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Next Meeting 27th July 2011

Nova Scotia in Cumberland Basin, Hotwells, Bristol. BS1 6XJ at 19.30hrs

LAUNCH OF THE NEW GREAT WESTERN REGIONAL GROUP: 29th JUNE, 2011

We would like to invite all CoP members in the GWAS region to the inaugural meeting of the new regional group.  

We are planning to meet upstairs at the Nova Scotia in Cumberland Basin, Hotwells, Bristol. BS1 6XJ at 19.30hrs 

At the first meeting we will ask members what they would like the new group to focus on and work out the best ways to achieve these aims, so it really will be open house for ideas.

It's your local group!

NEW CoP GREAT WESTERN REGION FACEBOOK SITE LAUNCHED,  GO TO:   CoP Great Western Regional Group

Regional Study Day  May 26th at UWE, Glenside Campus, Bristol BS16 1DD

See the main site CPD page for details of this and other regional CPD events.

For the GWAS area we have a fantastic line-up of clinicians, plus others who will talk on a wide range of subjects.  All this for a mere £5, which includes lunch.  For further details contact the CoP office.

College of Paramedics Great Western Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the Great Western Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the Great Western Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champion

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  Or contact Jim Petter, your regional Council member direct at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

London Regional Group

 The London Regional Group is on Facebook.

For the latest information and to follow us, click here. 

College of Paramedics London Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.

With this in mind the College is keen to develop the London Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.

In September 2011 the London Region CPD forum met for the first time aimed to represent the needs of the London members at a national level. The forum members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality. You can contact you regional members via the following;

West: Martin Berry                South West:  Fiona Scarlett

East:  James Rouse              South East:  Gareth Bartlett

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

North West Regional Group

North West Regional Group of the College of Paramedics - Inaugural Meeting

We are pleased to announce the inaugural meeting of the North West Regional Group of the College of Paramedics.

This meeting will take place on the 12 June 2012 at 9.30am

and will be held at NWAS HQ, Ladybridge Hall, Chorley New Rd, Bolton, BL1 5DD.

The objective of the event is fourfold:

• Update NW members as to the College's current objectives
• Share information about the College's work nationally
• Give members a voice back to the Governing Council
• Meet with other members of the College and create a network of station champions

Food and refreshments will be provided. As will details around future CPD events supported by the College.

If you wish to attend, please email your NW Regional Council Member

Andy Swinburn on .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

We look forward to seeing you on the day.

College of Paramedics North West Regional Group Members
With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within the North West it is important that the interests of these member are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop a North West Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the North West Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.
Station Champion
We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.
Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.
If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

West Midlands Regional Group

Andy Proctor  West Midlands Council Member

Andy is a Paramedic with the West Midlands Hazardous Area Response Team (HART). Andy Joined Staffordshire Ambulance in 2004 as a Community First Responder then in 2005 joined the Patient Transport Service full time. He then undertook his Ambulance Technician training with Staffordshire Ambulance service which then became West Midlands Ambulance Service, where he then studied at Coventry University undertaking the HE Dip Paramedic Science.

 

West Midlands 2012 CPD Day

What subjects would you like to see? email Andy to give your ideas.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

We are interested in hearing from College members within the West Midlands Region who would like to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.  

We need members from the following areas

West Midlands Ambulance Service areas of: Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire, Staffordshire 

Students Paramedics- conversion to Paramedic and full time students 

Much more to follow soon.

Andy Proctor

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Wales National Group

College of Paramedics Wales National Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the Wales National Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.

Three paramedics, Nigel Rees, Christian Newman and Tom Archer have been elected as Council Member and Alternates respectively. 

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Scotland National Group

College of Paramedics Scotland National Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the Scotland National Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.

We are therefore looking for Full Members within the Scotland National Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Yorkshire Regional Group

College of Paramedics Yorkshire Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level. Two YAS paramedics, Liz Harris and John Dunwell have put themselves forward as Council Member and  Alternate respectively on a casual basis until formal elections in 2012.

Liz Harris

“I qualified as an IHCD Paramedic in May 2003 with South Yorkshire Ambulance Service (SYAS). I became a Clinical Supervisor in 2006 and then a Clinical Team Educator (CTE) in 2007 after SYAS merged to form Yorkshire Ambulance Service. I am currently an Associate Lecturer for the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at Sheffield Hallam University mainly within their Paramedic Practice DipHE Programme.  I have a Certificate in Promoting Public Health, a FdSc in Paramedic Practice and a BSc(Hons) in Health Studies. Whilst continuing to work as an operational Paramedic I am now a Clinical Pathways Advisor for YAS, responsible for clinically focused pathway development to improve the quality of care we provide to our patients. My two main motivations for wanting to become a Council Member is firstly to contribute towards the on-going development of the paramedic profession as we strive to take full responsibility for our profession including self-regulation of standards of education and implementation of evidenced based clinical practice. Secondly, as the professional status of the paramedic continues to evolve, YAS clinicians need a voice for their opinions to be heard and knowledge and support as we move towards increased autonomy, accountability and credibility within the wider NHS”.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

John Dunwell

“From school, joined Royal Navy for 22 years as a Communicator, left RN in 1995 and joined ambulance service on Patient Transport Service in July 1997. Qualified as an Ambulance Technician in 2000 and as a Paramedic in 2004, and became a Paramedic Practitioner in 2009. I recently completed the foundation degree in Paramedic Science and now I am currently studying for my BSc(Hons) Paramedic Science at Teesside University. I joined the College of Paramedics in 2004. I now work on a rapid response car from Willerby in East Yorkshire.”.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Liz and John along with a couple of other YAS paramedics have formed the Yorkshire Regional Group, if you want to get involvedor just want more information then please get in touch.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

East Midlands Regional Group

College of Paramedics East Midlands Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the East Midlands Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the East Midland Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

North East Regional Group

College of Paramedics North East Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the North East Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the North East Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

South West Regional Group

College of Paramedics South West Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the South West Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the South West Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

South East Coast Regional Group

College of Paramedics South East Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the South East Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the South East Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Northern Ireland National Group

College of Paramedics Northern Ireland Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the Northern Ireland Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the Northern Ireland Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

East of England Regional Group

College of Paramedics East of England Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the East of England Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the East of England Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

South Central Regional Group

College of Paramedics South Central Regional Group Members

With a growing number of Full, Associate and Student Members of the College within our region it is important that the interests of these members are voiced at both a regional and national level.
With this in mind the College is keen to develop the South Central Regional Group to ensure that members can communicate with the College on a more effective basis.
We are therefore looking for Full Members within the South Central Region to represent their area at the Regional Group. These members will form a conduit to the Council and work actively to promote the College and its objectives to current and prospective members within their locality.

Station Champions

We are also looking for a number of College Members to take on the role of Station Champion. The purpose of this position is to take responsibility for promoting the College and its objectives at a station level, illustrating the work of the College and actively campaigning for their colleagues’ membership.

Whilst Regional Group Membership and Station Champion are both voluntary roles and can of course be occupied by the same person, it must be acknowledged that each requires the individual to commit to a degree of activity and College Members should ensure they take an active role.

If you wish to take an active part in the College within your area please email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Policies

Members who are logged in can view all of the College policies on this page.

Position Descriptions

Logged in members can download position descriptions from this page.

Committees

We have the following committees that meet at least three a year:

Membership Committee

Education Committee

Finance Committee

Research and Audit Committee

If as a member you have an issue you would like to bring to the attention of one of our committees please contact tehm via the membership office.

Corporate Sponsorship

The Corporate Partner

BoundTree Medical Services

Bound Tree Medical is our Corporate Partner and has provided funding to enable the College to offer a national continuing professional development (CPD) programme throughout 2011. BoundTree also provides products for purchase at special rates to College members through it's on-line shop. BoundTree has kindly agreed to continue to sponsor our CPD programme for 2012.  - to visit the Bound Tree website go to www.boundtree.co.uk

Corporate Members

Jones and Bartlett Learning/Class Publishing

Jones and Bartlett Learning Europe/Class Publishing have shared their UK office and attendant facilities with the College since June 2009. Since becoming a corporate sponsor Jones and Bartlett have offered discounts to College members, provided Paramedic Field Guides for promotions, sponsored mailings of the College newsletter, assisted with College attendance at exhibitions and provided resources for the College office staff. To visit the Jones and Bartlett website go to www.jblearning.com

ERS International Group Limited

ERS Group sponsored a very sucessful afternoon Tea Reception for the All Party Parlimentary Group on Emergency Ambulance and Paramedic Services (APPGEAPS) which was held at the House of Lords in September - to visit the ERS Group website go to www.ersgroup.co.uk

We are also pleased to announce two new corporate sponsors Zoll Medical and Airwave who became sponsors through their involvement and support of APPGEAPS

Zoll Medical are proud to support the College of Paramedics -  www.zollaed.co.uk

Airwave are proud to support the College of Paramedics - visit their website www.airwavesolutions.co.uk

Fire Survey Results

Results from the member survey we ran can be found from the download on the right.

Thank you

Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. We will publish the results once the survey has closed

Election Results

Results of elections for Student Member and Student Alternate to Council

Elections to the student positions were open to student members of the College of Paramedics by access to a secure area of the College’s website via unique identifiers.  Voting was open between 6 and 17 September 2010.  The results are as follows:

There were 59 votes cast from a possible 263 student members eligible to vote representing a turn-out of 22 percent.

 T McColley is elected as the Student Member and M Fletcher is elected as the Student Alternate.

Michael Fletcher (Kingston University and St George's, London)

The College of Paramedics is an essential resource for the future of paramedics and the training associated with the profession. Part of that future are the students training via universities and internal training programs. If I were elected, I would attend meetings to ensure that the students perspective is heard. One of my primary goals would be to advertise and encourage more students to join the College. This would need to supplemented by ensuring that there are benefits to joining. I would also aim to create a Student Paramedic Association, run and administered by students. I hope that this would allow students to empower themselves by having a bigger say and possibly the running conferences for students, by students. My previous career as an engineer gave me experience working as part of, and leading, a team - a skill that would help me to achieve these goals.

Over the past two years of the Paramedic Science degree, I have represented my class on both the 'Student Staff Consultation Committee' and the 'Course Committee'. Being involved in these committees has allowed me to ensure that the best interests of my class were represented. Thank you for your consideration.

Tony McColley (London Ambulance Service)

Tony McColley is a second year direct entry Student Paramedic with the London Ambulance Service.

He has come to the medical profession as a mature student after a career spanning the mechanical engineering, construction and electrical industries.

Whilst being involved in industry and with voluntary youth charities, he has worked for and with people from all walks of life, from substance abusers to Bishops, at street level and on management councils.

Competing in ultra-distance desert sports, both motorised and on foot, has left him with a vivid appreciation of human health, trauma and endurance.

He is proud to serve the community of London and is seeking election to the Council

Your Region

Welcome to the section of the website dedicated to the regional and national groups of the UK.

Click your region from the list on the left to find out what your local part of the College is up to.

Representation

We attend many national meetings and groups each year to represent the views and interests of the Paramedic Profession. The following is not the exhaustive list but is an indication of the breadth of our work on behalf of the profession. If you know of other meetings that you think we should attend please contact us via the membership line on 01278 420 014

• Higher Education Ambulance Development Group (HEADG)
• Joint Royal College Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC)
• JRCALC Clinical Guidelines Group
• UK Stroke Forum
• Allied Health Professions Federation (AHPF)              http://www.ahpf.org.uk/
• Department of Health
• Ambulance Workforce Forum
• Connecting for Health (CfH)
• National Ambulance Education & Development Forum
• Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine
• Ambulance Infection Control Group
• Health Professions Council (HPC)
• The Trauma Care Council
• The National Ambulance Research Steering Group
• The Faculty of Pre-hospital Care (RCSEd) Board
• The 999 EMS Research Forum Board
• Cardiovascular, Stroke and Vascular Specialist Collections of NHS Evidence (formerly the National Electronic Library for Health)
• United Kingdom Pre-hospital Sepsis Working Party (Surviving Sepsis campaign)
• National Governance Group for NHS Pathways
• 999 EMS Research Forum Board
• Faculty of Pre-hospital Care (RCSEd) Curriculum Advisory Group to the Inter-collegiate Board for the sub-speciality of pre-hospital care

Professional Development

Membership Categories

 Note: all payments must be made by Direct Debit (new and existing members) Please note the direct debit page will not come up if you register using  Google Chrome as your browser, we are trying to get this fixed however in the mean time please use either Internet Explorer or Firefox as your browser to register and join.

Full members: £25-00 automatically deducted from bank account at 6-month intervals (annual fee £50-00). New members receive a £10-00 voucher from Jones & Bartlett publishers plus an ongoing 10% discount and free postage on books

Eligibility: Paramedics with current UK Health Professions Council registration only

Paid-up full (UK HPC registered paramedic) members may use the post-nominal letters ‘MCPara’

Student members: £15-00 automatically deducted from bank account at 6-month intervals (£30-00 per year). New members receive a £10-00 voucher from Jones & Bartlett publishers plus an ongoing 10% discount and free postage on books

Eligibility: Students currently undertaking a UK Health Professions Council approved university or IHCD course leading to registration as a paramedic

Associate members: £35-00 per year, automatically deducted from bank account as a single payment at 12-month intervals New members receive a £10-00 voucher from Jones & Bartlett publishers plus an ongoing 10% discount and free postage on books

Eligibility:

1.    Ambulance technicians holding an IHCD certificate

2.    Anyone else with an interest in the furtherance of the aims of the College, the ambulance professions, and pre-hospital care

Notes:

1.    Only full members (registered paramedics) have voting rights

2.    Fellows may be elected by the Council of the College from the ranks of paid-up full members following consideration of nominations from at least two members of the College, regardless of grade. They may use the post-nominals ‘FCPara’ and are required to pay the same annual fee as full members.

3.    Honorary Fellows may be elected by the Council of the College following consideration of nominations from at least two members of the College, regardless of grade. They are required to pay the same annual fee as associate members.

4.    Emeritus Fellows are Fellows or Honorary Fellows who have retired in good-standing. They are not required to pay a membership fee.

5.    Student and Associate members and Honorary and Emeritus Fellows are NOT permitted to use post-nominal letters as this would contravene legislation which protects the use of the title ‘paramedic’. Any misuse of post-nominals will result in expulsion from the College and submission of a report to the Health Professions Council, risking prosecution. 

Ambulance Trusts

Member Benefits

Curriculum Guidance & Career Framework

This page is dedicated to the work we are doing to lead the development of the profession.

In January 2008 we published the curriculum guidance and competency framework which included a clear career framework for paramedics.

We are beginning to see the development of specialist, advanced and consultant paramedics.

Copies of the Curriculum Guidance are printed on demand. To order a printed copy please visit

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/curriculum-guidance-2008/10798436.

Press Enquiries

The College of Paramedics is the recognised professional body for paramedics and the ambulance professions. It is not, however, a Trade Union. Rather than representing individual practitioners in disputes with employers or acting as a forum for negotiating terms and conditions, as a professional body our role is to represent ambulance professionals in all matters affecting their clinical practice, thereby supporting the highest standards of patient care.

We provide support to the profession by providing advice to our members, and to people considering joining the ambulance professions. The College further represents the interests of paramedics and ambulance clinicians by providing a contact point for the media, through membership of appropriate committees and advisory groups, by developing professional standards guidance, and by responding to consultation documents and requests for advice from government, and other professional and registrant bodies.

The College is the UK's peak expert body on the practice of pre-hospital emergency care by paramedics and ambulance professionals.

Contact:

The first point of contact for comment is the College’s Executive Officer, Dave Hodge, please contact Dave via the membership office on 01278 420014.

Urgent out of hours press enquiries: 07973 316787

Frequently Asked Questions

Epilepsy. Q. I am diagnosed as Epileptic. How will this affect me becoming a Paramedic?

A. As Accident and Emergency fleet vehicles are over 3.5 tonnes (but not exceeding 7.5 tonnes), the category C1 is required on the driver's licence and is classed as a group 2 vocational LGV/PVC entitlement.

The group 2 medical regulations, with regards to epilepsy, are as follows:

*       Epileptic attacks are the most frequent medical cause of collapse at the wheel. NB: If within a 24 hour period more than one epileptic attack occurs, these are treated as a "single event" for the purpose of applying the epilepsy regulations. Epilepsy includes all events: major, minor and auras. Regulations require a driver to remain seizure-free for 10 years since the last attack without anticonvulsant medication.

*       For first unprovoked epileptic seizure/solitary fit, regulations require five (5) years off driving from the date of the seizure if the licence holder has undergone recent assessment by a neurologist and there are no clinical factors or investigation results (e.g. EEG, brain scan) which indicate that the risk of a further seizure is greater than 2% per annum. They should have taken no anti-epilepsy medication throughout the five-year period immediately prior

These regulations are contained in the publication 'At a glance Guide to the current Medical Standards of Fitness to Drive' issued by the DVLA Drivers Medical Group and found here:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/medical/ataglance.aspx.  For further advice about these medical regulations,  contact either a doctor or the DVLA.

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Diabetic. Q. I am a type 1 diabetic on insulin, would this affect me getting a job as a paramedic?

A.  As far as we are aware the law is that a type 1 diabetic is not allowed to drive blue light vehicles, however, you should contact your local ambulance service to find out if they would still employ you as a paramedic.  You can find details of ambulance services on http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/AmbulanceTrustListing.aspx

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Q. I am currently a Band 5 staff nurse hoping to pursue a career as a paramedic. I understand the Paramedic Science course is two (2) years, but wanted to know if I would still need to complete that as I am already a healthcare professional?

A. As with any other registered profession, entry to paramedic registration is via a higher education programme, either at Dip. HE or B.Sc levels.  There are some universities offering the B.Sc and it is expected that within the next five (5) years most will probably move to that level. 

You may find that there are universities that offer some APEL against your nursing diploma, but you would need to make further enquiries about that direct to universities which offer paramedic programmes.  A list of these can be found on the HPC website:  

  http://www.hpc-uk.org/education/programmes/register/ 

There has traditionally been a route to paramedic registration for existing ambulance staff who are not paramedics (i.e. existing ambulance technicians).  However this is becoming less available meaning you will be unlikely to access this route if you are not already an NHS ambulance service employee.  Alternatively you may find jobs on offer on clinical triage units within ambulance services; these are sections (usually in the control room) where health professionals such as paramedics, nurses, doctors etc provide clinical information and support to paramedics in the field.

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COUNCIL MEETINGS

The schedule has been designed to align Council meetings to the business planning timetable which means that at least one meeting per year commencing in 2011 should occur in late November

2011

19thJanuary 2011 - Held in Birmingham

16th June 2011 - Held in Birmingham

16th November 2011 - Revised date for Council meeting held by teleconference ( amended from 17th November 2011)

2012

26th January 2012 - Revised date for Council meeting held in Bridgwater

27th January 2012 - New event held in Bridgwater

14 March 2012 - Teleconference

 21st June 2012 - New date for Council meeting  to be held at South Central Ambulance Service, Eastleigh,Southampton ( amended from 11th July 2012)

22 November 2012 - Possibly to be held in North West (Bolton)

2013

21st,22nd January 2013 - Council meeting

21st March 2013 - Council meeting

20th June - Council meeting

11th November 2013 - Council meeting

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS

Once a year we have an AGM which is open to all members to attend. At this we present the annual report including accounts and vote on any decisions which need full membership approval.

10th June 2010 was held in Bridgwater, Somerset

15th June 2011 was held in Birmingham

The next Annual General Meeting for the College of Paramedics will be on Friday 22nd June 2012 - to be held at South Central Ambulance Service, Eastleigh,Southampton

11th November 2013

VENUES

All venues will be confirmed as soon as possible

Old News

Vacancies

Conferences

The College of Paramedics attend several major conferences each year. Conferences are important to the College for promoting membership, at some conferences we are able to offer CPD sessions and  they also enable us to discuss our work with people involved in pre-hospital care. Some Conferences kindly offer our members discounts from the normal delegate attendance rate.

If you know of a conference, study day or meeting that you would like us to attend please let us know by ringing the membership line on 01278 420014

Please click on the links below for further information of each event

CPD Guidance

The concept of continuing professional development (CPD) has become an increasing aspect of professional practice, as has the need for those professionals to be accountable for their practice. Change is an ever present factor in the modern world and in the area of health care particularly, research has a continuous influence on the delivery of health care. Consider the changes that have happened in recent years to the role of the paramedic; clinical factors include the introduction of LMAs; delivery of Thrombolytics pre hospital; intra osseous infusion; clinical performance indicators. There are also environmental factors that drive change in the pre hospital care environment; the threat of terrorism; the change of government in 1997 and the potential change this year. All these factors make it necessary for practitioners to prepare for and to stay abreast of change.

The College of Paramedics, as the professional body for registered UK paramedics supports the Health Professions Council in its requirement for paramedics to engage in CPD to ensure that practicing paramedics are able to inculcate change and embrace the continuous development of a world leading modern health care service.

Because the arena of paramedic practice is so varied, from NHS to private sector emergency work to teaching in universities and research, the exact nature of CPD activities is difficult to stipulate. It is clear to see that CPD for an emergency service provider will be quite different to a researcher however both can be HPC registered paramedics. It is this variety of role that will bring a variety of CPD activities to the profession and lead to a diverse development of what is a relatively new vocation. It is up to the individual to decide what constitutes CPD activity but the activity must satisfy a number of precepts. These are made clear by the HPC and their detailed guide to CPD can be found at www.hpc-uk.org The College of Paramedics also make recommendations for CPD activity and these support the HPC Standards for CPD.

Your Portfolio

The College of Paramedics recommends that CPD activity be recorded in a portfolio. Whether this is electronic or paper based, or a mixture of both is up to the paramedic. The BPA used to provide an online version of an electronic portfolio builder and can be found at https://cpd.britishparamedic.org. This is only available to members who signed up for it on the old site, www.britishparamedic.org, to log in you will need your surname and old BPA number. Please be aware the College of Paramedics no longer manages this site and can not guarantee its continued availability.

Other electronic portfolios are available and may even be provided by an ambulance trust or educational institution. Beware that if your evidence is stored online that the server may not always be available and may not guarantee to back up your data so ensure that wherever possible you keep an up to date backup of your portfolio.

However you decide to manage your portfolio there are a number of things that it should contain

1.       Personal details.

2.       A Contents page.

3.       Curriculum Vitae.

4.       Professional profile – information of how to write a profile can be found at http://www.hpc-uk.org/registrants/cpd/sampleprofiles and some examples are given. A profile could be requested from you at the time of re registration so it makes sense to keep this up to date rather than waiting to write one immediately prior to the re registration date in 2011.

5.       Job Description. This should be available from your employer and you should check that you are able to carry out each role and responsibility to ensure that you are performing as your employer intends. Any shortfall here could be an ideal focus for your CPD.

6.        Personal Development Plan. A PDP can be an agreement between you and your employer to ensure that you are performing and developing as your organisation desires. A PDP can be drawn up using the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework which will compliment your job description or can be used in place of a job description if you don’t.

7.       Reflections and articles relevant to reflections. These are essential items in a CPD portfolio. Reflecting on experiences is an important learning tool and demonstrates that you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses and can be self critical if you need to be. There are many reflective models available and you should be familiar with several so you can choose a suitable one for a given circumstance. Gibbs’s Reflective model is frequently cited in healthcare as is David Boud who encourages reflectors to engage with the emotional elements of experiences.

8.       Consent forms. It should be remembered by all Paramedics that confidentiality and consent are aspects of practice that must be considered not only in the clinical setting but also when information regarding patient conditions is being used for research or CPD purposes. All entries into your portfolio must be unidentifiable by patient name, address, incident location and date and time. Even with this level of anonymity you should also gain the patient’s consent to use their case in your portfolio. A record of you gaining this consent should be provided alongside your entry.

9.       Certificates. These are useful entries as they are a record of your attendance at an event of some kind. To increase the validity of certificates you should include a summary of the course you were on, perhaps some learning outcomes, and a reflective account of the course and how it will affect your practice.

10.   Record of clinical experience. Some ambulance trusts have a system of scanning patient report forms and collating information regarding skills performed on an individual basis. This information provides a record of your clinical practice and can help to identify areas where you could direct your CPD activity. A simple diary of clinical skills analysis, either paper or electronic e.g. MS Excel, is sufficient to record this information and should be included in your portfolio.

11.   Competencies/practice outcomes. All CPD activity should be related to your practice and you may have a list of specific competencies relating to your role. Unlike the NHS KSF, which is more generic regarding competence, a list of clinical competencies provides a tangible framework upon which you can self or peer assess your competence. Your activity should be based on these outcomes rather than just recording the time you have spent on an activity.

12.   Essential and supplemental evidence. You may also have other forms of evidence to include in your portfolio, some as mentioned above is essential evidence but you may have other forms which demonstrates your CPD. Examples might be conversations with clinicians where there has been a learning outcome; journal articles etc. The HPC have a list of suggestions which may help you decide if evidence is relevant.

13.   Evidence matrix/ cross-reference grid. Finally you should have a sheet that references your portfolio contents to your competence framework or KSF or the HPC standards. This will help you keep some order to your portfolio and find things when you need to update them.

Your portfolio should be a succinct record of your CPD and also embraces the concept of Lifelong learning. Don’t wait until the next Paramedic registration renewal date in June 2011 to begin compiling your portfolio. You should spend a small amount of time on a regular basis engaging with some learning activity and recording it. It has been scientifically proven that regular learning stimulates brain activity and leads to a healthier later life. Consider having a portfolio of your career as a Paramedic when you retire and a healthy mind to go with it.

Author: Tony Spence

Become a paramedic

Entry into the profession:

Historically, entry into the paramedic profession was achieved by working through various roles within a specific NHS ambulance service.  Prospective paramedics often began by working in the non-emergency Patient Transport Service, before moving into accident and emergency work by qualifying as an ambulance technician. Then, following a period of experience in the technician role, candidates would sit entry exams and then complete a training course to become a qualified paramedic.

With the increasing number of University courses leading to paramedic qualification, this is no longer the case. Those who wish to, can join a University Degree straight from school that leads to registration with the Health Professions Council (HPC) as a paramedic. For those who do not have the required entry qualifications for higher education, there are still some opportunities to join their local ambulance service in another role, e.g. call taker, ambulance care assistant or apprentice, or occasional in-house paramedic courses.

Most services offer further development for such staff, including support to study access to higher education courses so that suitable candidates can then gain a place on a suitable university course.

If you are interested in applying for a role within the NHS ambulance services you should contact your local Ambulance Service Trust to find out what positions are available, as these alter between Trusts.

Entry requirements:

Most University courses require, as a minimum, that applicants hold 5 GCSEs at grade ‘C’ or above, including Maths and English, plus 2 A-Levels or the equivalent in a related subject (e.g. NVQ level 3 or BTEC National).

For mature students, most institutions will also accept a suitable access to higher education course.

Most Universities publish their entry criteria on their websites.

Driving Emergency Vehicles

Whilst registration with the Health Profession Council as a paramedic does not rely on the ability to drive an emergency vehicle, most NHS Ambulance Trusts (who are by far the largest employer of  paramedics), will require you to be able to drive a frontline ambulance under emergency conditions. This will usually require having category C1 on your driving licence (Vehicles weighing between 3,500 kg and 7,500 kg).  In order to drive under emergency conditions staff are also required to pass an emergency driving course, commonly of three to four weeks duration, which NHS Trusts often provide in-house, (although there also are some limited alternative providers). 

People with certain medical conditions are barred from driving emergency vehicles, including insulin dependent diabetics and some categories of epilepsy. This is something to bear in mind if you are thinking of becoming a paramedic and suffer from one of these conditions.

Direct entry courses

Entry onto many of the university courses is through the University Central Admissions Service (UCAS). Most of these courses are fulltime, and as a student you will be eligible for means tested grants, student loans and also have to pay tuition fees.  Although paramedic students are not currently included in the NHS Bursary Scheme, some NHS Strategic Health Authorities provide support for university students,  details of any such support can be obtained from the university in question.

For a link to UK paramedic education providers see the link in the right hand column.

Supported places

Some Universities work closely with partner ambulances services to provide paramedic development for existing non-paramedic clinical staff such as technicians and emergecny care assistants.  A small number of ambulance Trusts also provide programmes for new starters.  Entry onto these courses is via the partner ambulance service Trusts.  Most commonly students of supported places are existing employees of the partner ambulance Trust, and will often have fees paid and other support such as salary and expenses.  The graduate paramedic would normally be expected to work for their employing Trust on qualification as a paramedic and for a fixed time afterwards.

It would be worth contacting ambulance services directly to enquiry if they are currently running a direct entry Student paramedic scheme.

Join the College of Paramedics

You should join the College of Paramedics, prospective students may join as associate members. This will both show you are committed to the professionalism that the College upholds, and give you access to the representation and benefits that  membership brings see the Student Flyer 'Student Voice' download (right)

Post registration opportunities

As outlined in "Paramedic Curriculum Guidance and Competence Framework" (CoP, 2008), the College of Paramedics supports an increase in the threshold entry level for paramedics to a minimum of Diploma of Higher Education.  However some university-based paramedic courses are set higher than this at B.Sc (Hons) level and paramedics are increasingly found studying for post-graduate qualifications after their initial registration. 

Until recent years, the prospects for paramedics wishing to develop were limited to in-house ambulance Trust training or management roles.  In recent years however, many paramedics have developed their clinical practice into specialist and advanced roles in areas such as primary and critical care.  Increasingly paramedics are to be found working for institutions other than ambulance Trusts, such as Out of Hours GP providers, Minor Injuries Units, Walk-In Centres, and various private health providers, both in the UK and abroad.  In keeping with other health care professionals, paramedics are required to have attained higher education qualifications to undertake such roles.

Paramedics also develop in other ways.  Many move into managerial, educational or research roles and the diversity of these pathways has also increased in recent years with the growth of university provision and specialist managerial roles.

Executive

The Executive is made up of the senior role holding members of the College of Paramedics Council

Chair: Andy Newton

Vice Chair: John Martin

Director of Professional Standards: Jim Petter

Director of Membership Services: Andy Sharman

Chief Executive: Dave Hodge

Management Accountant: Joanne Collins

Associate Member

Associate membership is open to anyone with an interest in the furtherance of the aims of the College, the ambulance professional and pre-hospital care including technicians holding an IHCD certificate.

Payment is by Direct Debit automatically deducted from your bank account once a year.

£35 annually

New members receive a £10 voucher from Jones & Bartlett publishers

Other member benefits can be found here

Please enter your details in the boxes on the right and have your bank account details ready.

Full Member

Full membership is open to those who are UK registered paramedics with the Health Professions Council.

Payment is by Direct Debit automatically deducted from your bank account at 6 month intervals.

£25 every 6 months (£50 annually)

New members receive a £10 voucher from Jones & Bartlett publishers.

Other member benefits -  click here

Please enter your details in the boxes on the right and have your bank account and HPC details ready.

Student Member

Student membership is open to those who are currently undertaking an  Health Professions Council approved course leading to eligibility to apply to the register.

Payment is by Direct Debit automatically deducted from your bank account at 6 month intervals.

£15 every 6 months (£30 annually)

New members recevied a £10 voucher from Jones & Bartlett publishers to help with your studies

Other member benefits can be found here <LINK>

Please enter your details in the boxes on the right and have your bank account and course details ready.

History of the Profession

Member Information

In these pages you will find lots of information that is specially for members including member benefits, conferences, regional news and events and vacancies. Log in to view all items.

Faculty of Prehospital Care: consensus workshops

The Faculty of PreHospital Care is holding three separate consensus statement workshops.  The College of Paramedics has been invited to nominate representatives for the workshop on pharmacologically assisted laryngeal mask insertion on 13 April.  Invitations to members of the College to the other two workshops which are on’ spinal and pelvic’ and ‘patient handling’ are on 8 March and 16 April 2012 respectively. Please view the downloads on this page.

Please advise the Head Office of the College of Paramedics at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you would like to attend either of the events listed.

Research and Audit Committee

 Welcome to the CoP section dedicated to research and audit. The research and audit group has become a well established group, contributing to a number of positive work streams undertaken in the past few years. It has predominantly focused on research projects for out of hospital care in order that we can progress the future of the profession from an evidence based perspective.

The group is now chaired by John Donaghy who is a registered Paramedic and active member of your professional body. All of the participants in this group are members of the CoP and come from a range of varied backgrounds:

Paramedics
Research specialists

Paramedic Lecturers

Academic nurses teaching paramedic degree programmes

Remember this is your specialist group and it exists to further research undertaken by the profession, to improve patient care, and to raise the threshold of the professional standing of our members.

The Terms of Reference for the group are available on this website, but some of our key objectives are:

1. To develop a research and audit strategy for the CoP

2. To design and undertake research and audit projects in the field of pre-hospital emergency and unscheduled care in support of the work of the CoP and to further develop evidence-based pre-hospital care.

3. To disseminate the findings of completed CoP research and audit projects to member, in addition to a wider audience through publications and presentations

4. To identify and pursue opportunities to influence the health services research agenda at national, regional, and local level

5. To provide professional representation for the CoP on appropriate national and regional committees

6. To identify and disseminate international and national published research and audit findings of relevance and interest to CoP members

7. To develop educational initiatives for ambulance professionals in areas related to research

8. To identify and disseminate details of other sources of education in research and audit to CoP members

9. On request, to provide expert advice and support on research proposals developed by CoP  members (see table below)

10. To review and approve all research to be undertaken under the auspices of the CoP

11. To provide a peer-review service for research protocols prior to submission to ethics and research governance committees (external peer review is now recommended by all ethics committees)

12. To ensure all research carried out under the auspices of the CoP meets current standards and guidelines for research governance, ethics, and good research practice

The group is planning not only to undertake research and audit in the name of the CoP but also to ensure that you, our members, are able to develop your own research skills. The ability to undertake research that guides practice is one of the key markers of a 'profession'. As our work develops we may be canvassing you, the members, for your input into various research questionnaires on topics of relevance. In addition to larger projects coming on stream we will be seeking funding for ambulance professionals to participate fully in the studies as research assistants.

Minutes of the group will be published on the website as will policy and guidance documents to support your own research. We have also assembled a list of useful links and would be delighted to receive further suggestions to expand on these. Topics covered include research and audit methodology, research governance, and funding sources.

I look forward to an exciting time with this group and enabling opportunities for all members. Please give us subject areas for which you would like to see research questions designed, and any suggestions to help promote our work will be welcomed.

John Donaghy (Research and Audit group chairman).

Current CoP Research and Audit Group members:

Dr Julia Williams  

Janette Turner

Pete Gregory

Mike Templeton

Sarah Christopher

Roland Furber

Mike Smyth

Sarah Christopher

Please note: that we are currently working to produce a list of those members of the Research & Audit group to identify their specialism’s and who would liked to be contacted with enquiries. This piece of work should be completed by the end of February 2010. In the meantime Should you  have a fully-developed protocol that you wish to submit for peer-review prior to making an application to an ethics committee, this should be emailed to Malcolm Woollard in the first instance. 

Education Committee

Council

The College of Paramedics is run by an elected council. Each position is voted in by the full members for that area and the post is held for two years. Each area also an alternate position.
Council meets three times a year and sets the strategic direction of the College. All Council members give their time on a voluntary basis and receive no payment for undertaking their duties.

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Members Area

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Click here to continue.

Education Providers

Do you want to study to be a paramedic. The following education providers offer courses that lead to eligibility to apply to the register held by the Health Professions Council. The College has a system for approving courses against our own curriculum guidance.

Home

Links

Here you will find a selection of useful links.

News

All the latest news pertaining to Paramedics, check back regularly.

Articles of Association

The articles of association define how the organisation is set up and decisions are made.

The current articles can be downloaded from the link on the right hand side.

Welcome

The College of Paramedics is the recognised professional body for paramedics and the ambulance professions. It is not, however, a Trade Union. Rather than representing individual practitioners in disputes with employers or acting as a forum for negotiating terms and conditions, as a professional body our role is to represent ambulance professionals in all matters affecting their clinical practice, thereby supporting the highest standards of patient care. Professions are defined by the unique body of knowledge and expertise that they hold, and this is developed through research and establishing standards for education, clinical practice, and personal conduct. The College is active in all of these areas.

We provide support to the profession by providing advice to our members, and to people considering joining the ambulance professions. The College further represents the interests of paramedics and ambulance clinicians by providing a contact point for the media, through membership of appropriate committees and advisory groups, by developing professional standards guidance, and by responding to consultation documents and requests for advice from government, and other professional and registrant bodies. Importantly, all members of the College are given the opportunity to comment on consultations, and we provide a synthesised collegiate response rather than the views of just one or two individuals holding leadership posts. It is only in this way that the ambulance professions have a voice in determining how changes in health service provision, legislation and clinical practice are shaped and implemented.

In 2008 and 2009 the College was represented in the following groups:

• Higher Education Ambulance Development Group (HEADG)
• National Heads of Ambulance Education Group
• Joint Royal College Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC)
• JRCALC Clinical Guidelines Group
• UK Stroke Forum
• Allied Health Professions Federation (AHPF)
• Department of Health
• Ambulance Workforce Forum
• Connecting for Health (CfH)
• National Ambulance Education & Development Forum
• Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine
• Ambulance Infection Control Group
• Health Professions Council (HPC)
• The Trauma Care Council
• The National Ambulance Research Steering Group
• The Faculty of Pre-hospital Care Board
• The 999 EMS Research Forum Board
• Cardiovascular, Stroke and Vascular Specialist Collections of NHS Evidence (formerly the National Electronic Library for Health)

In order to undertake this work the College has a Council, consisting of a main and alternate member for each of the English NHS Regions and for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and representatives from the private sector and the military. It also has Research and Education sub-committees, and an Executive elected by Council consisting of a Chair, a Deputy Chair, and Directors of Finance, Professional Standards, and Membership Services.

The most important people in the College are, however, its members – the only purpose of those of us with ‘titled’ positions is to serve their interests. We can best represent the ambulance professions if the significant majority of practitioners join the professional body – so if you aren’t yet a member of the College please join by emailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Thank you for visiting our website and for your interest in the College of Paramedics.

Intubation Debate

Ambulance Trusts

• East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• East Of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• Isle Of Wight NHS PCT
• London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

experimenting

Automatic external defibrillator: Welch Allyn AED 10

Device recall due to quality and performance problems. Devices can fail suddenly and prevent defibrillation of a patient

Welch Allen have instigated a field recall for some of their Defibrillators which are branded as

MRL JumpStart

Automatic external defibrillator

Welch Allyn AED 10 was previously branded as MRL LifeQuest JumpStart in the UK.

The AED 10 is a portable, semi-automatic external defibrillator used in hospitals, ambulances and public places.

Depending upon the date of manufacture, units may have one or more of the following problems as described briefly below and in detail in the manufacturer's Field Safety Notice.

• Low energy shock
• Electromagnetic noise interference
• Unexpected shutdown during use
• Blown fuse resulting in device failure
• Loss of voice prompts
• Shut down in cold temperatures

Specific serial numbers are affected.

The serial number is located on the top left of the base of the unit.

Further information and reporting procedures can bee seen using the link below.

Welch Allen defibrillator recall

Council Vacancies

NOMINATIONS FOR GOVERNING COUNCIL (South East Coast)

Nominations are invited for the election of a South East Coast representative to the Governing Council of the College of Paramedics.

The vacancy provides an opportunity in enhancing your skills of working on a committee making strategic decision and policy. The commitment to the work of the council will range from attending up to 6 meetings per year and the undertaking of professional development on behalf of the profession.

Your experience will also bring much to the work of the ambulance professional body and help us continue and expand on the important work being undertaken by the College for the future standards and protection of our profession.

Any nomination will require two paid up full members to support each candidate and nominations should be accompanied with a statement of qualifications and experience for serving on the council and the nominees consent in writing. The successful candidate shall serve for two years.

NOMINATIONS FOR GOVERNING COUNCIL (South Central)

Nominations are invited for the election of a South Central representative to the Governing Council of the College of Paramedics.

The vacancy provides an opportunity in enhancing your skills of working on a committee making strategic decisions and policy. The commitment to the work of the council will range from attending up to 6 meetings per year and the undertaking of professional development on behalf of the profession.

Your experience will also bring much to the work of the ambulance professional body and help us continue and expand on the important work being undertaken by the College for the future standards and protection of our profession.

Any nomination will require two paid up full members to support each candidate and nominations should be accompanied with a statement of qualifications and experience for serving on the council and the nominees consent in writing. The successful candidate shall serve for two years.

For full details please apply in writing to:

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The College of Paramedics

The Exchange

Express Park

Bridgwater

TA6 4RR

Paramedic CPD Assessors are needed by the HPC

Would you like to be CPD Assessor for Paramedics?

The Health Professions Council (HPC) is a regulator of health professionals and our main aim is to protect the public. To do this, we keep a register of health professionals who meet our standards for their training, professional skills, behavior and health. More>>>>>

President: Dr Anna van der Gaag

Chief Executive and Registrar: Marc Seale

Health Professions Council - Registrations

CPD Assessors - Paramedics

We are currently recruiting for the role CPD (Continuing Professional Development) Assessors who review CPD profiles for the purpose of continuing registration.

You will need to have sound written and verbal communication skills and the ability to analyse complex information to form reasoned decisions.

Training will be provided. A fee will be paid as will travel and accommodation expenses in accordance with the HPC Partner Expense policy.

This appointment will last for two years from commencement, and will then be subject to reappointment.

The HPC does not accept CVs so for a recruitment pack and further details about the role, please refer to our website at the following address:

http://www.hpc-uk.org/aboutus/partners/ or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Please contact Marche Wilson, Partner Administrator on 020... for further information about this position.

Closing date: 1 March 2009

The HPC is committed to equality of opportunity and actively guards against unfair discrimination on any grounds (including sexual orientation, religion or beliefs, race, sex, age or disability).

Park House

184 Kennington Park Road

London

Tel:+44 (0)20 7582 0866

http://www.hpc-uk.org/

Tue, 10th February 2009

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Paramedics

Faculty of Health and Wellbeing
Allied Health Professions
Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Paramedics
������£30,594 to ������£44,930 per annum
Vacancy Reference HWB 512/09
Closing Date 14 September 2009 at 12pm

Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam University is one of the UK's most progressive and innovative universities.

We pride ourselves on making a difference - to our students, our staff and to the businesses we work with. Our research and business ideas, alongside our sought after graduates, contribute to the economic and social development of both our region and to the UK as a whole.

Our teaching is first-rate and is supported by our world-class applied research. Our students are a diverse group and benefit from a tailored approach that helps them to get the most from their studies. We offer top quality teaching and learning facilities and the ability to learn flexibly in a way that best suits their needs. For example, we are one of the UK's leading universities in e-learning and offer a range of distance learning and part time courses as well as the more traditional full time courses.

Our industry partners choose Sheffield Hallam because of our flexible, business led approach and our high quality research, facilities and students. Our partners include Sony, BP, NHS, Network Rail, Cisco, SAP and Microsoft.

Our facilities are state-of-the-art and we have invested heavily in new technology to ensure that our technological capability

matches the cutting-edge approach of our teaching.

We are recognised as a Centre of Excellence for Teaching and Learning, e-learning and employability.

Location

Collegiate Campus

This post is based at our Collegiate Crescent Campus which is a leafy oasis set in Victorian landscaped gardens off Ecclesall Road, which is bustling with shops, bars and cafés.

Benefits

The employment package includes generous holiday entitlements

Annual leave entitlement starts from 25 days and rises depending on staff group, grade and length of service.

In addition, extra statutory days are provided for extended University closure around some UK public/holidays.

We understand the need for a good worklife balance. We therefore support and opera0te a
number of flexible working schemes including job-share and flexible working hours where applicable

Our employees can join (either):

Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS)

Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) (if a current member)

Other details

All appointments are made subject to:

Eligibility to work in the UK, medical assessment, receipt of satisfactory references and other checks that may be required for the role.

For informal enquiries regarding this post please contact:

Sue Boardman, Course Leader on 0114 225 5455 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Proposed Interview Date:

In October, date to be confirmed

The Selection Event for this post will comprise of: Interview and Presentation

Candidates will be expected to prepare a 10 minute presentation entitled ' Describe how you could contribute to the paramedic academic team and support high quality learning in theory and practice'.

Further information for applicants

Other information

Non-EU Nationals

The University has a legal responsibility to ensure that all employees are entitled to live and work in the UK.

For those posts that require highly specialist skills and qualifications we may be able to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship for a suitably qualified applicant to help in obtaining entry clearance in to the UK or leave to remain in the UK from the UK Boarder Agency.

Further guidance on the UK Border Agency Points Based System can be found at www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk . You can also email the University's Human Resources Department at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006

Before employment can commence all individuals must produce original documentary evidence of their

entitlement to live and work in the UK under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

**This post involves working with or having regular contact with children and/or vulnerable adults.

All employers are required to access the criminal records of people seeking to work with children and/or vulnerable adults.

This is referred to as a CRB Disclosure and is obtained from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

If you are successful in your application for this post, you will be asked to apply for an enhanced CRB Disclosure. You will be sent a CRB Application Form and guidance at that stage. A criminal record will not necessarily prevent you from employment, but its relevance to the duties of the post will need to be assessed before the appointment is confirmed.

Further information about the criminal records check process can be found at www.disclosure.gov.uk

GENERIC JOB DESCRIPTION

Post title: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer

Responsible to: Head of Allied Health Professions (may be delegated to another senior manager in the team)

Reports to: Professional Lead / Course Leader

Purpose:

To assist the paramedic team with the development, and delivery of the undergraduate programme, the assessment in line with the University's Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy.

To contribute to curriculum development, research and other forms of scholarly activities as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

Main Duties:

The post performs a range of duties and responsibilities from those listed below; the balance will vary between post holders.

Learning, Teaching and Assessment:

Plans and delivers teaching for students using appropriate media, including IT

Engage in critical reflection on practice as a basis for improving performance. Contribute to innovation in learning, teaching and assessment and curriculum development with the aim of meeting the needs of the learners.

Provide support and guidance to students.

Translate professional experience into the academic context as appropriate.

Engage in staff development activities relating to teaching, learning and assessment.

Research and Scholarly Activity:

Indentifies and conduct research and scholarly activity which is relevant to the lecturing role.

Integrate research into teaching and learning.

Team work and communication:

Work effectively with colleagues at all levels and contributes to the achievement of team objectives.

Develop collaborative relationships across teams and between departments.

Maintain dialogue with managers in the performance of post responsibilities.

Develop networks of useful contacts both within and outside the University.

Personal effectiveness:

Seeks ways to improve efficiency, quality, motivates and encourages others.

Contributes to achievements of organisational goals.

Quality management and enhancements:

Contributes to the development and achievement of quality standards and criteria.

Take part in initiative to improve quality of educational provision and access to higher education.

These duties evolve in line with the changing strategic objectives of the Faculty/ Departments and the University.

Specific objectives will be agreed through the University appraisal process.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Post: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer

Faculty/Department: Faculty of Health and Wellbeing

Completed by: S Boardman

Date: 18/08/09

Vacancy Reference Number: HWB 512/09

* Essential or Desirable

Changes to the constitution - Taking us forward

Constitution

At the AGM this year, further amendments were approved to the constitution of the BPA and College of Paramedics. The philosophy behind the constitutional changes are based on the development of the BPA as we become the only recognized professional body by those key stakeholders involved in the delivery and commissioning of ambulance services and its ever extending scope of practice.

Your support in taking the profession forward to the point where we are becoming truly self regulated has played a major part in our success. The revised constitution which as you will see establishes the College of Paramedics as our forefront to the organisation and the BPA will continue to exist in support of the college. This will enable over time and continued success for us to aim for royal status for your professional body. The changes associated will be be introduced gradually as we need to repalce headed paper and other things. This will ensure that the changes will not result large amounts of money having documents reprinted.

The revised constitution can be found at the following link;

Educational Events for the profession

The following listed events will provide you with the opportunity to broaden your knowledge, practice and experience in the ever changing field of work you are involved.
The course encompass all professional whatever range and level of practice you operate at.
All of the events are approved for your CPD and direct links to your electronic diary can be found through your online CPD.
 

Courses

Public Information

Welcome to the website of the College of Paramedics. All Paramedics in the ambulance service today, whether they are Private sector, Military, Voluntary or NHS have to be resgistered with a government regulator to ensure that when they call themselves a Paramedic the title is used legally and the public receive a recognised and high standard of care.

The College of Paramedics exists to support members during their professional careers. We do this by setting the standards for education and training that education providers should aspire to if they wish to offer Paramedic programmes. It is becoming more frequent now for universities to offer programmes for Paramedic education. When they do the facilities and programme have to be approved through the university accreditation system and also by the Health Professions Council in order to accept the qualification from the university as being up to the required standard for a Paramedic to be registered and gain their licence to practice.

As a member of the public you have a right to expect that when you are attended by a Paramedic that the person caring for you is registered with the Health Professions Council and providing the level of care you deserve. The Health Professions Council make publicly available the facility to check that the paramedic providing your care is registered to practice as a paramedic. Click on the link below if you wish to check on the registration of a Paramedic.

http://www.hpcheck.org/

Research and Audit

College of Paramedics; British Paramedic Association.

Research and Audit Group

Latest News

University of Ulster MATCH Programme Survey on Cardiac Point of Care Technologies

The university of Ulster is undertaking some research over five years on Point of Care Technologies. They are seeking an input into this research from the Ambulance profession. Please follow the link below if you like to learn more or participate in the study.
>Match Study

Introduction

Welcome to the BPA section dedicated to research and audit. The research and audit group have now become well established and some positive work has been completed to develop some research projects for out of hospital care in order that we can progress the future of the profession from an evidence based perspective.

The group is chaired by Professor Malcolm Woollard who is a registered Paramedic and active member of your professional body. All of the participants in this group are members of the BPA and come from a range of backgrounds:

Paramedics
Research specialists

Paramedic Lecturers

Academic nurses teaching paramedic degree programmes

Remember this is your specialist group and it exists to further research undertaken by the profession, to improve patient care, and to raise the threshold of the professional standing of our members.

The Terms of Reference for the group are available on this website, but some of our key objectives are:

1. To develop a research and audit strategy for the BPA

2. To design and undertake research and audit projects in the field of pre-hospital emergency and unscheduled care in support of the work of the BPA and to develop evidence-based pre-hospital care generally

3. To disseminate the findings of completed BPA research and audit projects to members and to a wider audience through publications and presentations

4. To identify and pursue opportunities to influence the health services research agenda at national, regional, and local level

5. To provide professional representation for the BPA on appropriate national and regional committees

6. To identify and disseminate international and national published research and audit findings of relevance and interest to BPA members

7. To develop educational initiatives for ambulance professionals in areas related to research

8. To identify and disseminate details of other sources of education in research and audit to BPA members

9. On request, to provide expert advice and support on research proposals developed by BPA members (see table below)

10. To review and approve all research to be undertaken under the auspices of the BPA

11. To provide a peer-review service for research protocols prior to submission to ethics and research governance committees (external peer review is now recommended by all ethics committees)

12. To ensure all research carried out under the auspices of the BPA meets current standards and guidelines for research governance, ethics, and good research practice

The group is planning not only to undertake research and audit in the name of the BPA but also to ensure that you, our members, are able to develop your own research skills. The ability to undertake research that guides practice is one of the key markers of a 'profession'. As our work develops we will be sending out research questionnaires on topics of relevance to our out-of-hospital care, and as larger projects come on stream we will be seeking funding for ambulance professionals to participate fully in the studies as research assistants. For the future, we are currently developing some workshops designed to develop your skills in research and audit.

Minutes of the group will be published on the website as will policy and guidance documents to support your own research. We have also assembled a list of useful links and would be delighted to receive further suggestions to expand on these. Topics covered include research and audit methodology, research governance, and funding sources.

I look forward to an exciting time with this group and enabling opportunities for all members. Please give us subject areas for which you would like to see research questions designed, and any suggestions to help promote our work will be welcome.

Professor Malcolm Woollard

Research and Audit group chairman.

Current BPA Research and Audit Group members:

Prof. Malcolm Woollard

Prof. Tom Quinn

Dr Julia Williams

Dr Sam King

Janette Turner

Pete Gregory

Mike Bjarkoy

Mike Templeton

Sarah Christopher

Roland Furber

The table below lists those BPA Research and Audit group members who are willing to be contacted by members for advice regarding research and audit projects. We are very keen to help, so please don't hesitate to ask! With your permission, we would like to publish some of the questions raised and responses offered on this website so that others can learn from them - but we will only do so with your approval.

Table of research expertise

Note that if you have a fully-developed protocol that you wish to submit for peer-review prior to making an application to an ethics committee, this should be emailed to Malcolm Woollard in the first instance.

Stroke Guidelines 2006

A significant amount of work has been undertaken over the last year to produce guidelines for the management of those patients suffering from a stroke.

Steve Hatton from the British Paramedic Association has represented the Ambulance profession in the development and final production of this extremely important work. The following introductory paragraph will show the range of application for the document.

Treating stroke and TIA as a medical emergency will save lives and prevent long-term disability.
Whilst much of the responsibility for initial pre-hospital care falls to the ambulance service and
primary care, these guidelines are also relevant to NHS Direct, A&E staff and Acute Medical
Services. These guidelines apply to the care of all patients with suspected stroke or TIA,
irrespective of whether it is a first or recurrent event. This concise guide contains
recommendations from the Pre-Hospital Stroke Guidelines Group and the Intercollegiate Stroke
Working Party. Longer term management issues are covered by the National Clinical
Guidelines for Stroke 2004.

The full guidelines can be found from the following link.

Prescribing Responsibilities for Advanced Paramedics - Evidence of Impact

Prescribing Responsibilities for Advanced Paramedics - Evidence of Impact

Work is being undertaken at the Department of Health in consideration of the case for the introduction of advanced paramedic prescribing responsibilities. In order to support further investigations towards making the case for prescribing, the department would welcome feedback from you. Evidence is needed of where prescribing could actually make a real difference, to illustrate and support the case to be made. So, either examples or cases you have experienced, or references using abstract scenarios you can envisage, where an advanced paramedic / paramedic ECP being able to prescribe would provide (or would have provided) significant added value to the care of a patient on a particular occasion. Lots of detail isn't required, just some explanation of how being able to prescribe could help, or could have helped, in a more real-life setting.

There is, of course, no need to attribute any personal details to any scenario that may be based on a real case. Any examples forwarded will be considered for use in the consultation document and final case to be presented.

It's often the real-life - or scenario - examples that bring an issue to life, and can enable people to relate to an issue in a way it is simply not possible to do when the issue is merely an abstract concept, however worthy. Wherever possible, references should be included (not essential) to provide some support for your example or abstract idea.

Please submit your ideas to:prescribing@britishparamedic.org

There is no deadline for this work and suggestions will be assessed by a professional panel from the college before forwarding to the department for inclusion.

About Us

What is the College of Paramedics?

Soon after the HPC was formed and the Orders in Council were approved by the Privy Council, it was required that the HPC had to liaise with a professional bodies for all the professions that the registrar was responsible for. At that time the only profession not to have professional body was the Ambulance profession. Two colleagues from Essex Ambulance Service undertook the necessary work to set up a professional body in order to ensure that the profession would be represented and fulfill the self regulation responsibilities for standards and education. The name of British Paramedic Association (BPA) was agreed at an inaugural meeting held at AMBEX in 2001. From this point the development of the BPA began, and has now taken the name the College of Paramedics (CoP).

What are the benefits of a professional body?

The real benefits of a professional body are not always tangible. Our main areas for benefit to members lie in the philosophy that as a profession we shall work towards undertaking responsibility for our own professional future. Historically you will be aware that the standards we have worked to and the awards following training have been driven largely by the employers with significant medical support. This kind of approach had not been followed by any other registered profession from medical professions to allied health professions. Having a professional body of our own was the opportunity to change the way that education, training and associated awards are established. The prime responsibilities for the wider member benefit are:

� Self regulation of professional standards and education

� Standards of Education and training (HPC)

� Standards of Proficiency (HPC)

� QAA Benchmarking (DoH)

� Curriculum Guidance (HPC)

� Continuous Professional Development (provision and support)

� Responsibility for the review of professional awards

� Reference for point for health organizations

� Professional support and advice

Within this work our main objectives are:

• To strengthen and develop the profession and represent the interests of its practitioners
• To raise the general awareness of the existing and potential contribution of the profession to patient care
• To encourage and share good clinical practice and high standards of care
• To develop and expand the potential of the profession for contributing to patient care in a modern health service
• To represent the views of the profession to government, employers and other external bodies
• To encourage higher standards of initial and continuing professional education and development
• To commission, report and analyze research in out of hospital patient care

Any profession that wishes to undertake full responsibility for its standards and future direction will need to pursue the objectives and establish the wider benefit of taking our profession into the future for ourselves and not led by others.

The College through determination and perseverance is, for the first time in our history achieving this benefit for its members as the people who deliver ambulance care to the public and our patients. A good example of this is the production of the curriculum guidance for higher education institutes and their partner ambulance service. The document has been prepared completely by registered paramedics who are also CoP members and some advice has been sought from universities and other specialists. The document has been sent to every College member as part of the consultation process in order to give all members the opportunity to make comment and influence the future of their profession and the associated educational standards. These responses will be incorporated into the work before the final document is submitted to the HPC for use in the approvals process for higher education and ambulance services delivering ambulance education. This is a milestone in our history and one we should all be proud of.

The constitution of the College is set to fulfill the professional development for its members and not to act in relation employment matters, contracts or pay. In essence the College was never established to be a trades union. The College does provide an advice service for its members who have any concerns about aspects of their profession or career. We deal with many telephone calls and email enquiries in the areas of professional concerns and employment enquiries from members and we shall continue to provide advice and guidance to assist them.

The College has worked hard to show itself as a responsible and professional body, willing to work hard with the profession to represent its knowledge and understanding of what the profession believes is right for the safe delivery of care to the patients and public safety. What better place is there for the HPC to get this information and establish these standards than from the profession itself. It can then meet its statutory requirement to protect the public in the knowledge that the standards and responsibility for self regulation of those standards has come from within the profession.

In conclusion the College exists to ensure that all of you in the ambulance profession, whatever sector you work in will take forward the standards for education and practice. The College has made significant progress in helping to promote our profession and we aim to continue to do so. I do hope that you will feel inclined to join the CoP and using your enthusiasm and knowledge help us to improve our mandate and continue our work as a professional body.

Roland Furber
President
College of Paramedics

Contact Us

Telephone: 01278 420014

Our office is normally manned between 9.30 and 13.30 (at other times please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible).

Email:

For membership enquiries: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

For general enquiries: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

For education and career enquiries: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

For press enquiries: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
 

Urgent press enquiries: 07970 464078

Postal Address:

College of Paramedics

The Exchange

Express Park

Bristol Road

Bridgwater

TA6 4RR

Membership

Membership is in three categories please choose the type of membership below.

Once you have entered all your information, including your bank details the system will take upto 24 hours before allowing you to access your membership.

Tax relief can be claimed on your membership fee. Follow the link below for further details.

https://www.collegeofparamedics.co.uk/news/archive/2011/02/18/tax_relief_on_members_subscriptions

down load info,with no down load attatched

There is a CPD Guidance manual for the on line system available for download. Please click the link to CPD login on the left of this page and you will find a download link on the next page.

Please check your membership details

Member details

Would members please note that since the amalgamation of Ambulance Trusts there have been changes to many email addresses. This creates a lot of undeliverable messages when we try to circulate information to you.

Please check your personal details on your account and use the update facility to make any changes necessary as soon as possible.

If you find your membership is due for renewal you can click "renew membership" beneath the login box and pay on line

Thank you

Structure

Continuous Professional Development

The College on line CPD system has now completed the awaited upgrade and is live on the website for your use. The work undertaken on the previous version has been transferred to your new records.

You will find a number of new and changed features, all of which are designed to improve your quality of CPD. The changes made will also make the provision for personal development planning as part of the system and presenting work to meet the standards of the HPC will be much easier for you.

The upgrade has been very carefully tested and refined; however like all of these things there is always the possibility that you may discover a bug that is new. If you should discover anything then please email the details to us.

We are very pleased with the upgrade and the College in partnership with the software house are always seeking ways to improve it. Should you have any suggestions then please post them on the CPD member forum.

A help manual will be produced as soon as possible for your assistance. In the meantime if you have any queries then please telephone 01332746356.

For those members of the college who might wish to move to an online CPD system can sign by logging into the home page and selecting the link.

http://www.britishparamedic.org/register_cpd

Chief Health Professions Officer’s Conference 2009

The Chief Health Professions Officer's conference as you may know through you trusts is to be held this year on 6 and 7th of October in London.

There is a strong effort being made to engage with the paramedic profession in the wider AHP community. This is particularly important as the developing role of our profession will impact on the front line of patient care and the work with other Allied Health Professionals.
The Chief Health Professions Officer, Karen Middleton made the following statement.
 

With the current focus on quality, innovation, productivity and prevention, AHPs really are the right people in the right place at the right time. We are key players in prevention, we bring value for money and, as most AHPs are first-contact practitioners, we set the tone for a high-quality patient experience. This year, my conference will focus on that fact and will encourage AHPs to really step up and show what they can do.

Karen Middleton, Chief Health Professions Officer, England

There are still opportunities for places to get places at the conference. Applications are encouraged from the Paramedic profession and the College is being represented by John Martin from the council.
You may wish to make your own application or perhaps your trust might sponsor you.

If you would like to find out more or make an application to register then please click the following link.


https://www.chpoconference.co.uk/Default.aspx