Paramedic student course launches to tackle North East shortage
North East Ambulance Service has launched a new student paramedic course alongside the University of Sunderland.
The North East Ambulance Service has launched a university course to help address the paramedic shortage
They’ve been working with the University of Sunderland to develop a new bespoke two year diploma, which will begin this year.
It’s after the service revealed there’s a 20% shortage in qualified paramedics across the region.
The specialist training programme hopes to train paramedics in a much shorter timescale but with the same outcome. In doing so the service hopes to increase numbers both internally and externally to allow vacancies to be filled as fast as possible.
Paul Liversidge, Chief Operating Officer for the North East Ambulance Service, said:
“We recognise that the shortage and we have to make sure that our workforce plans are tailored to the numbers that we need to bring into the organisation. That’s the reason why we have a number of ways to make sure that our numbers are maintained.”
“We’ve done a lot of talking; a lot of negotiation and I think for it to go live today is great. We’ve got two cohorts of 20 staff planned in Septembers and December this year. The sooner that we get those started and the staff on the better.”
“It’s an intense course, it’s challenging but in my opinion it’s one of the most rewarding jobs you’ll ever do.”
Yvonne Ormston, NEAS Chief Executive, said:
“Our new partnership with the University of Sunderland will allow us to grow our own paramedics through a regular intake, on top of the graduate paramedics we already accept from our successful partnership with Teesside University.
“This new course also allows us to invest in and develop our workforce by enabling them to progress their careers without the need to leave the Trust.
“In order to develop our staff, we have taken the decision to ring-fence the first cohort to our own internal applicants. Future courses will also have a number of ring-fenced places to ensure we are able to upskill our own workforce as well as welcome new faces into our Trust.
“Training to become a paramedic is intense and challenging but is also one of the most rewarding opportunities available. I look forward to welcoming the next generation of student paramedics to our organisation very soon.”