New paramedic scheme to be launched in Herefordshire (From Hereford Times)

New paramedic scheme to be launched in Herefordshire

7:00am Friday 18th November 2011 in Health

AVOIDING unnecessary trips to hospital is set to be one of the key aims of a new paramedic scheme being launched in Herefordshire.

The new Community Paramedic scheme has started in the Bromyard area and will see patients receive advanced medical care without having to go to hospital.

Paul Johns and Simon Burrows, the community paramedics for this part of Herefordshire, have received additional training to become advanced paramedics.

They now possess additional skills in assessment, such as urine-testing, and treatment procedures, such as wound care.

As part of their training they worked at Hereford County Hospital’s Accident and Emergency department and at the Herefordshire GP Access Centre at ASDA in Belmont, Hereford.

Ringfenced to Bromyard and the surrounding area and covering the town round-the-clock, Paul and Simon will bring more A and E skills to the patient, instead of having to take them to hospital.

The community paramedics are working closely with GPs and district nurses in Bromyard on how to best look after its population.

Bromyard is the first town in Herefordshire to adopt the scheme, but the rest of the county will follow.

“The old image of the ambulance service was that all we did was take patients to hospital,” said Paul.

“Our aim now is to ultimately reduce the number of people we take to A and E. We can now treat things like minor wounds and cuts ourselves without having to take the patient to hospital in Hereford.”

Paul added: “It’s about integrating the ambulance service with the rest of the NHS, making us feel part of it.”