Listed below are all the qualifications and responsibilities required to become a care provider. Please note that ER24 does not offer these professional paramedics courses at present.
All emergency care providers are required to register their qualification with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and the Board of Emergency Care Providers, and thereafter to ensure that they are annually registered to continue practising.
Advanced Life Support
The Advanced Life Support Paramedic is able to deal with a patient in an acute emergency with a number of drugs, tubes and various monitoring equipment. This includes the vast majority of pre-hospital emergencies in both the medical and trauma situation.
Pharmacologically, the paramedic carries a range of drugs, which include analgesics, sedatives, cardiac anti-arrhythmic, respiratory system medications, anti-emetics, endocrine agents and a few other agents that are specific to some of the more common emergencies encountered in the pre-hospital environment.
From a skills point of view, the ALS paramedic is trained to manage compromised airways, gain intravenous access, perform advanced cardiac monitoring, and manage breech deliveries, among others.
Currently there are three recognised ALS qualifications: Critical Care Assistant (CCA), which is a 9 to 11 month program, National Diploma: Emergency Medical Care (NDip), which is a 3 year degree, and B.Tech Emergency Medical Care (BTech), which is a 1 year honours type program for which the N.Dip must have been completed first.
To train as an ALS paramedic one can either first complete BLS (Basic Life Support) and ILS (Intermediate Life Support) training, or alternatively apply to one of the Universities of Technology that offers the degree program in Emergency Medical Care and Rescue.
Intermediate Life Support
The Intermediary Life Support emergency care provider is able to deal with a patient in an acute emergency setting, with limitations as compared to the ALS paramedic. This includes treating the more common pre-hospital emergencies, including cardiac, diabetic and difficulty in breathing, with a specific series of drugs.
Skills wise, the ILS provider is able to deliver an infant, gain peripheral intravenous access, administer certain medications intravenously and defibrillate.
Currently there are two recognised ILS qualifications: Ambulance Emergency Assistant (AEA), which is a 4 month course, and National Certificate: Emergency Medical Care (pending final approval from the Professional Board and SAQA), which is a 1 year tertiary program.
Basic Life Support
The Basic Life Support provider is capable of managing a case at a “basic” level. They are trained in pre-hospital emergencies and ambulance equipment, which places them at a higher level than a Level III First Aider. While the BLS provider is not trained in invasive procedures, they are capable of dealing with and recognising emergencies.
A BLS emergency care provider is trained in the use of Automated External Defibrillators, oxygen administration, spinal immobilisation, splinting, and childbirth without complications to name a few. All BLS providers are trained to recognise an emergency that is beyond their scope of practice and activate a more advanced level of care to attend to the patient.
Currently there is only one recognised BLS qualification - Basic Ambulance Assistant, which is a course lasting approximately four to five weeks.
Requirements
Basic Ambulance Assistant (Basic Life Support)
Minimum requirements
- BAA Certificate
- Current registration with HPCSA
- Code 10 licence with current public driver’s permit
- Minimum 6 months experience on the road
- Proficiency in English – verbal and written
- Excellent driving and map reading skills
Responsibilities
- Performs diagnostic and therapeutic duties within the scope
of the profession
- Completes case sheets accurately and legibly
- Transports patients safely and hygienically
Ambulance Emergency Assistant (Intermediate Life Support)
Minimum requirements
- Ambulance Emergency Certificate
- Current registration with the HPCSA
- Code 10 licence with current public driver’s permit
- Minimum 6 months experience as an AEA
- Proficiency in English – verbal and written
- Supervisory skills
- Excellent driving and map reading skills
Responsibilities
- Performs diagnostic and therapeutic duties within the scope
of the profession
- Supervises BAA
- Completes case sheets accurately and legibly
- Transports patients safely and hygienically
Paramedic (Advanced Life Support)
Minimum requirements
- CCA or National Diploma/Degree in Emergency Medical
Care
- Current registration with HPSCA
- Code 8 drivers licence with current public driver’s permit
- Good communication skills
- Excellent driving and map reading skills
Responsibilities
- Performs diagnostic and therapeutic duties within the
scope of the profession
- Maintains good communication with the public and others
- Emergency providers at incident scenes
- Ensures documentation is completed and submitted
timeously after each incident
- Supervises crews on shifts
- Assists in the marketing process by promoting ER24’s
services to the public
