CYPRUS’ emergency services may have procured a fleet of new ambulances, but there will be no qualified paramedics to man them for least a year it emerged yesterday.
In the meantime, the 33-strong fleet of government ambulances – due to increase to 41 next year – will continue to be staffed by non-medically trained drivers and duty nurses.
“There are no paramedics yet” said ambulance service head Andreas Kouppis, adding: “The paramedic training course begins on Monday and lasts one year.”
Kouppis said that during the course, paramedic students would receive training on the job and learn about a range of emergency service related topics, such as pharmacology, communications and roadside treatments.
However, some observers believe that one year of training is inadequate for paramedics.
One UK based paramedic with 21 years of experience commented on Cyprus-mail.com website: “I absolutely guarantee the headline in a future newspaper “Insufficient training causes death” or something similar. As well meaning as the Cypriot health service may be, it’s grasp of the realities of the training to become a paramedic is that they have no idea what’s involved.”
Asked whether one year of training is enough, Kouppis said: “We believe that it is enough. Now there is no training for (nurses) to prepare them to go with the ambulance.”
On qualifying, half of the paramedics will go to the four emergency service response centres around the island, while the other half will go to the private sector. In the meantime plans are afoot to provide training for drivers and nurses so that their skill-set meets the requirements of a piece of emergency services legislature, which is currently pending the Attorney general’s and parliamentary approval.
There is a possibility that before next October, the government will approve an amendment to current employment legislation, allowing foreign paramedics to work in Cyprus.
Asked about this, Kouppis said a proposal was currently pending approval by the finance ministry, which would allocate a budget for potential foreign paramedics’ salaries.
However, given the government’s sluggish implementation of adequate ambulance services so far – and recurring failure to deliver ambulances within its own timeframes – it seems unlikely that foreign paramedics will arrive first.
In 1994, a World Health Organisation study criticised the ambulance system, in place and urged that a paramedic one replace it by 1995. A 1996 study by a British paramedic consultant concluded that, two years on, none of the WHO report’s recommendations had been implemented.
The year before that Kouppis had submitted an eight-year, CY£5-million plan to create an independent paramedic service, which got held up at the Finance Ministry’s Planning Bureau awaiting funds.
In 2002, former health minister Frixos Savvides promised the service – which is still outstanding – would be ready within a year.
“When you need to make changes it takes time, because we have to have the right system. Yes it has taken time but the benefit is that we have it now” said Kouppis
