Emergency Care Practitioner

An Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) generally come from a background in paramedicine and most have additional academic qualifications, usually at university, with enhanced skills in medical assessment and extra clinical skills over and above those of a standard paramedic, qualified nurse or other ambulance crew such as EMT's and Ambulance Technicians. It has been recommended by the College of Paramedics that ECPs be trained to PgDip or MSc level, although not all are. Evidence of the best way to target Emergency Care Practitioners is limited with utilisation of traditional Ambulance dispatch codes not always being shown to be most effective and referrals from GPs also potentially failing to deliver management of demand that would be appropriate for this different level of practitioner. Evidence however clearly demonstrates that in discreet groups of patients the use of these extended role staff responding to emergency calls can reduce admissions and thus improve patient outcomes as well as delivering a clear cost saving to the NHS. An Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) generally come from a background in paramedicine and most have additional academic qualifications, usually at university, with enhanced skills in medical assessment and extra clinical skills over and above those of a standard paramedic, qualified nurse or other ambulance crew such as EMT's and Ambulance Technicians. It has been recommended by the College of Paramedics that ECPs be trained to PgDip or MSc level, although not all are. Evidence of the best way to target Emergency Care Practitioners is limited with utilisation of traditional Ambulance dispatch codes not always being shown to be most effective and referrals from GPs also potentially failing to deliver management of demand that would be appropriate for this different level of practitioner. Evidence however clearly demonstrates that in discreet groups of patients the use of these extended role staff responding to emergency calls can reduce admissions and thus improve patient outcomes as well as delivering a clear cost saving to the NHS. ECPs may be employed in a range of areas of care such as emergency medical services, primary care centres, hospitals, prisons, walk-in centres, or out-of-hours medical centres. The majority of ECPs work autonomously. Many are employed by Primary Care Trusts or Ambulance Services. The work of the ECP appears to be recognised as a valuable asset in many care arenas with the current trend of employment within primary care practices becoming more prevalent. ECPs in the United Kingdom are educated to different levels. In some areas a BSc or Post Graduate Certificate (PgC) makes one an ECP while in other areas an MSc may be needed.