A major meeting of ambulance service Human Resource Directors, Education Leads and the College of Paramedics took place in April 2012, to discuss the future of paramedic education and how Trusts, the College of Paramedics and Heads of Education can work together to influence the commissioning, funding and delivery of paramedic education.
The objectives of the National Education Strategy Summit – which was supported by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) were:
- To understand the issues arising from the Health Bill and its impact of workforce development in Ambulance Trusts
- To review opportunities to influence commissioning and funding arrangements and partnerships required for the future.
- To make recommendations to AACE as to the future design of Ambulance Service Education.
- To make recommendations of the design, content and implementation of a national Careers Framework.
The Summit also looked at the ambulance support workforce on bands 1-4, specifically discussing the levels of education of these support workers and if and how ambulance trusts should and could participate in the development of their education packages.
Delegates considered the general career frameworks and progression of the support workforce and the future roles of the College of Paramedics and other education providers.
Says Jackie Moore, Head of Workforce Development at East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust: “The event was well attended and there was overwhelming support from all Trusts to progress with the points raised at the summit. The next steps are to take the actions that came from the discussions to the National HR Directors meeting to firm up an action plan to take forward.”
