London Ambulance Service to recruit more Australian paramedics

December 22, 2015 1 Comment

London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) is set to return to Australia in September to recruit additional paramedics, after making employment offers to 393 paramedics during previous visits in September 2014 and March 2015.

A team of recruitment and operational staff from LAS will interview and assess approximately 200 experienced paramedics or paramedics who will have recently graduated.

LAS will be in Sydney between Monday 7 September and Friday 11 September at The Westin Hotel, 1 Martin Place, Sydney, New South Wales (NSW) 2000 and Melbourne between Monday 14 September and Friday 18 September at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, 2 Clarendon Street, South Wharf, Melbourne.

The emphasis of this forthcoming campaign is to specifically target qualified, experienced paramedics, or those who will be qualified by the end of 2015.

Karen Broughton, LAS director of transformation, strategy and workforce, said: ‘If you’re a qualified paramedic or will be qualified by the end of 2015, we would love to see you. Please sign up for our assessment days and find out about working for the world’s busiest ambulance service.

‘The Australian paramedics that we’ve already recruited are doing a fantastic job and form a crucial part of our workforce. They’re extremely enthusiastic, have a great work ethic and are keen to progress, which is why we’re going back to recruit more. They are really enjoying London and all that the city has to offer.

‘As well as recruiting from the UK, we’re recruiting Australian paramedics because their skills closely match those of our paramedics here. To support them in taking up their new jobs in London we provide a three-week familiarisation course and driver training, so that they have all they need before beginning work with us.’

More paramedics are needed in London due to year-on-year increases in demand and a national shortage of paramedics making it difficult to recruit within the UK.

While LAS is working with universities to increase paramedic places on courses, and training paramedics in-house, more are needed to bridge the gap until these are qualified.

The team will also visit universities and hold opening evenings in Sydney and Melbourne to urge experienced and graduating paramedic graduates to consider a career with LAS.

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 19 August 2015.

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Surge in overseas recruitment

December 22, 2015 Leave a comment

Ambulance services within the UK are increasingly looking overseas to recruit staff as a result of a nationwide shortage of paramedics. The need for the drive has been brought on, in part, following the recommendation for paramedics to be added to the shortage occupation list for the first time (Migratory Advisory Committee, 2015). Significant increases in demand for ambulances in the UK following the shift in focus to treat people at home rather than in A&E; high staff attrition due to work pressures and stress brought on by longer working hours; and growing opportunities for paramedics to take on roles in alternative areas, have all contributed to the shortage.

While only one paramedic was recruited from overseas from 2013–2014, 183 have already been recruited from 2014–2015, with additional recruitment planned for the rest of the year (Renaud-Komiya and Calkin, 2015). Many of the staff now employed by the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) have come over from Australia and New Zealand, where paramedics share a similar skillset with the UK. There is also the added benefit of a mutual language. Conversely, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has turned to Poland to help combat their shortage of paramedics. The assessment process within the LAS involves completing a clinical paper, a lifting assessment, and a practical assessment on advanced life support, as well as an oral interview.

However, it is worth noting that the migration of healthcare workers brings with it ethical issues, as services abroad may suffer as a result of their own falling numbers (Peate, 2014). An article in the Herald Sun referred to the ‘aggressive’ campaign being undertaken by LAS as an attempt to ‘poach’ Victorian paramedics (Van den Berg, 2014).

The UK is not alone in looking overseas for recruitment. Many paramedics who trained in the UK now work in countries such as Australia or the United Arab Emirates. However, the extent at which paramedics from other countries are being targeted for recruitment is certainly an anomaly within the UK. While it certainly offers a short-term solution for the current shortage ‘crisis’, it is questionable whether it presents a real answer to the problem. It is undoubted that national investment is needed in the paramedic profession.

That being said, the positives of overseas recruitment shouldn’t be overlooked. Working abroad, even if only temporarily, offers opportunities for intercultural awareness and the development of global perspectives of issues, as well as an insight into alternative pathways of care, service provision and paramedic practice to one’s own country.

References

Migratory Advisory Committee (2015) Partial review of the Shortage Occupation Lists for the UK and Scotland. MAC, London. http://tinyurl.com/qdaqbbl (accessed 26 March 2015)

Peate I (2014) Ethical recruitment and employment of internationally educated paramedics. Journal of Paramedic Practice 6(10): 500–501. doi: 10.12968/jpar.2014.6.10.500

Renaud-Komiya N, Calkin S (2015) Trusts forced to look overseas to plug paramedic gaps. HSJ. http://tinyurl.com/pqeo4k5 (accessed 27 March 2015)

Van den Berg L (2014) London in bid to lure Victorian paramedics. Herald Sun. http:// http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/londonin- bid-to-lure-victorian-paramedics/storyfni0fit3- 1227011369042 (accessed 17 September 2014)

Taken from International Paramedic Practice, published 8 April 2015.

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Tackling the shortage of paramedics

December 22, 2015 Leave a comment

February marked the first time that paramedics were recommended for addition to the shortage occupation list (SOL), with vacancy rates running at approximately 10% of the total 12 500 paramedic workforce in England (Migratory Advisory Committee, 2015).

Using evidence received from the Centre for Workforce Intelligence, the Migratory Advisory Committee have identified a number of factors driving the shortage. These include: significant increases in demand for ambulances as a result of the shift in focus to treat people at home rather than in A&E; high staff attrition due to work pressures and stress brought on by longer working hours; and growing opportunities for paramedics to take on roles in alternative areas such as the 111 service, GP practices and walk-in centres.

In an attempt to combat the shortage, ambulance services have been forced to introduce a number of initiatives. Many have looked overseas to fill the gap in the workforce, as retraining a healthcare professional to meet Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards usually only requires a short conversion course. This is particularly true for countries such as Australia and New Zealand, where the skills and training are similar to the UK. While only one paramedic was recruited from overseas from 2013–2014, 183 have already been recruited from 2014–2015, with further recruitment planned (Renaud-Komiya and Calkin, 2015). However, it is worth noting that the migration of healthcare workers brings with it ethical issues, as services abroad may suffer as a result of their own falling numbers (Peate, 2014).

Increasing the number of student paramedics will help to secure future generations of the workforce; however, it does not tackle the problem now, and does not help deter those paramedics who are already considering leaving the profession. Not only this, but higher education institutions (HEIs) are limited by the number of places they can offer. The shift of training in 2009 from in-house ambulance service training to a mix of degree, diploma, and foundation degree courses, has had a considerable impact on the profession. What is really needed, therefore, is a national funding scheme for the training of paramedics (Barnes, 2015). If national investment was made in paramedics then HEIs would be able to take in bigger cohorts as more places would be funded. Health Education England (HEE) has pledged to increase the number of paramedic training places by 87% over the next two years, but these additional commissions will not produce qualified paramedics until 2016/17 (HEE, 2015). Growth to the paramedic workforce is essential; however, the rapid level of increased demand from ambulance services means that shorter term supply solutions must be found if growing vacancy rates are not to deteriorate further until this newly trained supply becomes available.

References

Barnes S (2015) National fund needed to address paramedic shortage, says ambulance chief. HSJ. http://tinyurl.com/q2z8wez (accessed 27 March 2015)

Health Eucation England (2015) Workforce Plan for England: Proposed Education and Training Commissions for 2015/16. HEE, Leeds

Migration Advisory Committee (2015) Partial review of the Shortage Occupation Lists for the UK and for Scotland. MAC, London. http://tinyurl.com/qdaqbbl (accessed 26 March 2015)

Peate I (2014) Ethical recruitment and employment of internationally educated paramedics. Journal of Paramedic Practice 6(10): 500–501. doi: 10.12968/jpar.2014.6.10.500

Renaud-Komiya N, Calkin S (2015) Trusts forced to look overseas to plug paramedic gaps. HSJ. http://tinyurl.com/pqeo4k5 (accessed 27 March 2015)

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 3 April 2015.

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Australia introduces HPV vaccination for boys

September 9, 2013 Leave a comment

Australian schoolboys have begun receiving vaccinations to protect them against cancers and disease caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).

HPV is a common infection that is associated with cervical cancer and genital warts. It has also been linked with other cancers such as throat cancer, although not as strongly.

‘We’re confident that extending the program to males will reduce HPV-related cancers and diseases in the future,’ said Australian Health Minister Tanya Plibersek.

Following the introduction of the vaccine to girls in 2008 to help reduce the risk of cervical cancer, Australia has become the first country in the world to publicly fund HPV vaccinations in boys.

The action has resulted in organizations such as the Throat Cancer Foundation to urge the UK to follow suit. However, the Department of Health for England has held its ground, saying that due to the lack of scientific evidence, there was no plan to implement the vaccination of boys into the NHS programme.

According to the Throat Cancer Foundation, the vaccine costs as little as £45 per person, and treatment for throat cancer costs the NHS around £45,000 per patient, meaning there is considerable cause for discussion of the topic.

Taken from Practice Nursing, published 18 Feb 2013.

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