Local ambulance training reinforced

Press, 25 October 1984, Page 8

Local ambulance training reinforced

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

More local training for ambulance officers is recommended in a review of ambulance officer training. The review, commissioned by the previous Government, was written by the former Commissioner of Police, Mr Bob Walton, and the former head of the school of mathematics and science at Wellington Polytechnic, Mr Hans Offenberger. Their main recommendation was that training at local and regional levels be strengthened. The National Ambulance Training School at Auckland should be seen as a resource centre, with the school or-

ganising correspondence courses as well as continuing to hold intermediate and advanced residential courses, they said. In its terms of reference, the review required the set-ting-up of a national training concept so that ambulance staff could provide and support the highest standard of patient care in pre-hospital emergencies throughout New Zealand. The review also covers training of volunteers and the career structure for ambulance officers teaching at the Auckland school. Hospital boards should consider whether the use of qualified ambulance officers was warranted for transport duties not medically essential, the authors said.

The Minister of Health, Dr Bassett, said the report would be considered next week by a special meeting of the Ambulance Transport Advisory Board. A detailed qualification and training structure is set out in the body of the report. The authors could not consider officer training without touching on the wider question of how ambulance services themselves should be organised, and whether there should be an Ambulance Authority, as has been suggested. They did not comment for or against this idea, but said that any statutory provision for an Ambulance Authority should include a training committee.