Registered paramedics in Gibraltar: the student perspective

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq miles) and a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the only landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30 000 Gibraltarians. Although Gibraltar has a small geographical area, there is a large annual tourist and migratory workforce influx, a naval base, a busy port and airport combined with a more typical elderly community population.

The ambulance service in Gibraltar was provided by the Royal Gibraltar Police up until 1998 after which St John Ambulance service took over pre-hospital provision and adopted the Institute of Health and Care Development standard for Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). In 2007, the Gibraltar Health Authority, which delivers primary and secondary healthcare, absorbed the ambulance service and committed to developing a small group of EMTs as paramedics. For the first time in Gibraltar's healthcare history, in November 2013, four students successfully graduated from a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) validated paramedic programme in Gibraltar.