‘Paramedics are a key component of the health system as the first point of contact for those in most need of our care. The changing role of paramedics has seen them take greater responsibility for clinical decision making and providing interventions that in the past would only have been undertaken by doctors. They make a valuable contribution to high quality patient care as inter-professional clinicians working in pre-hospital care settings in Northern Ireland and I welcome the fact that these enhanced roles are being underpinned by a move to higher education for paramedic practice. The ongoing development of the paramedic profession has led to the recent recognition of Northern Ireland paramedics as members of the Allied Health Professional Group, underlining the high quality and compassionate care they provide to patients. I look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the Ambulance Service and its dedicated paramedics as we deliver on the ambitious health transformation programme, including a transformed ambulance service which will enable resources to be targeted more effectively to those patients with the most urgent clinical need.’
‘Our Ambulance Service staff do a fantastic job saving lives and delivering high levels of health care to the people of Scotland on a daily basis, often under challenging circumstances. As we look to shift the balance of care and deliver more services in the community, improving outcomes for patients, our ambulance staff as ever will play an essential role. We've invested almost £900 million in the Scottish Ambulance Service in the last 4 years which has helped them to grow and develop their workforce. We are committed to supporting the service to train an additional 1000 paramedics over the course of this parliament, building on the 16.5% rise in staffing over the last decade.’
‘Since the first dedicated HEMS service in 1987, care by specialist clinical teams by land and air, funded in the main by charitable organisations has grown considerably. it is apparent that medical care and specialist intervention is evolving and support provided by specialist teams continues to develop in response type by land and air. The aircraft, fleet, availability of resource and clinical teams will continue to grow, adapt and change to support patients' clinical care based on evidence and efficiencies. Alternative and larger aircraft types are increasing which will no doubt innovate and allow further care, availability and resilience to be explored with the continual demand to provide the best care and response to incidents.’