The third consecutive month of terror, disasters and political caprice in England ends. In the wake of the Grenfell Tower catastrophe, stories of emergency personnel's heroism continue to trickle in, as does the government's praise for their courage and competence. With every calamity, speeches and articles rush to thank the emergency services. With each saved life, their value is accepted; their expertise declared indispensable. And yet, this is where the praise is capped. It does not guarantee job security after Brexit, nor does it translate to a pay rise.
Verbose praise for emergency services can no longer obscure the unfairness reflected in their salaries. The UK government has capped the pay rise of around 500 000 public sector workers (including paramedics) at 1% per year. If the cap is to be lifted to match annual inflation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that it would cost the government an annual £4.1 billion by 2019–20. Recent election results, several debates and demonstrations repeatedly call for an end to this cap, and despite promising to listen to the public, the promises do not turn into policies.
The government claims that we must ‘live within our means’, which is why these austerity measures are necessary. However, there is a fine line between living within our means and paring the society of essential social services. Those who are at the frontline of emergency care also deserve a fitting pay and promotion along with praise, as words do not pay bills. It will be difficult for NHS Trusts to hold on to experienced staff because of this measure. Salary increments and positive evaluations boost morale of paramedic teams and offer an incentive for continuous improvement.
While the ethos of the journal is to publish research in paramedicine, it is important to be aware of other events that have an impact on paramedics across the country.
This issue focuses on professional articles relevant to trainee and practising paramedics. The advent of social media in healthcare has helped emergency services in disseminating information to the public, and for professional development. However, with new media come new, unwritten dos and don'ts. A paramedic from Essex was recently struck off from the register, as he posted pictures of incidents he attended on Instagram. This was reportedly to draw people towards his online jewellery store. Apart from individuals, healthcare services also have their official social media pages. Baron and Townsend (p. 282) explore potential breaches of confidentiality in such current social media practices. We have often covered the emotional demands of paramedic practice in JPP. Kath Jennings offers an insight into whether trainee paramedics are aware of this occupational demand (p. 288). Duffy and Jones (p. 296) discuss views of paramedics on having the authority to prescribe medicines, and whether this would make paramedics better equipped to deal with emergencies in the UK.
You may believe that the current backdrop is detrimental to the professional progress of paramedics, or that the profession has always been subject to frequent restructures. The unrealistic challenge for paramedic bodies now is to maintain excellence and competence through the political and financial unrest. Only time will tell where this praise without rewards takes our emergency medical services.