Researching the historical development of the paramedic industry in Ireland

inflatedeagle

, I'm not sure if this is the right category to post in but I'll ask here first and if anybody has a better suggestion I'd appreciate the help.

I'm currently studying healthcare pre paramedic and I'm trying to research the development of the paramedic industry in Ireland...I have searched online and checked out the NAS HSE and PHECC websites along with the order of Malta and st John's. I have found a few articles with a couple of vague paragraphs but so far I haven't found anything very informative.

Does anyone know of any decent sites, books or archives that I can look through in order to better educate myself on the history of paramedics in Ireland? I want to document the changes in regulation as far as training, salary and rights of a paramedic throughout the history of Ireland. (Before our independence too if there's any information available)

MN_Medic

In the past emergency calls were responded to by an ambulance driver, commonly a hospital porter, and a nurse from the ward of the local hospital. In the mid 1980's an ambulance course was developed that trained the 'drivers' in basic life support and ambulance procedures. This was followed by the IHCD technician course which gave responders the training and title of EMT. A conversion course was provided for existing ambulance staff to train up to this level. In 2005 the advanced paramedic training began under the title of EMT-A. Following this the EMT & Paramedic programs as we know them today were started in 2007. PHECC are currently on their 6/7 version of CPG's with the first guidelines being very basic in compassion to today. I have version 2 from about 15 years ago somewhere but id have to do some digging for it.
The 7th schedule is legislation for medicines that prehospital practitioners can legally administer while following their guidelines. If you look for it and how it has changed over the years you can get an idea of how things have changed. But, bear in mind that although the minister signed into law the medications listed, not all of them are currently used by prehospital practitioners.
The national ambulance service college (formally the national ambulance training school) may be a good source of information and you'll get their contact information online. The college is based in Tallaght with a second facility in Ballinasloe. The Dublin fire brigade train at the O'Brian Institute (OBI) in Dublin and could be worth contacting also.
The Dublin fire brigade (DFB) had some great posts on their Twitter feed to mark the Centenary of the 1916 rising where they posted a list of ambulance call outs during the 1916 rising. It's an interesting read.
At one time there was 'cardiac ambulances' in service. These were vehicles that had cardiac monitoring and defibrillators on board and staff trained to use them. A strange thing in comparison to today where every ambulance from NAS/DFB through to the volunteery services now have this capability. I think the first service in the world to place defibrillators on their vehicles was the Northern Ireland ambulance service (NIAS). They maybe worth contacting also.
This is a basic run down of how things have changed and I'm open to correction on this as I'm pulling it from memory. I hope this helps.

Bang Bang

Some great information there MN Medic. Dr. Frank Pantridge created the first portable defibrillator and was first used on the streets of Belfast in the mid 1960's

The pay scale has been a bone of contention for many years. Before benchmarking in the mid 2000's the Ambulance Staff pay was linked to a County Council drivers pay. Even today the pay is considered 'Non nursing' and is reflected so. HSE Paramedic pay grades are held by radiographers and occupational therapists and other groups. Even today some Paramedic staff who receive their long service increment will see that their pay scale is 'Ambulance Driver Cardiac Trained'. Hard to fathom but it's true.

inflatedeagle

Thanks MN_Medic! It really does help. I've got some solid info there and it gives me a platform to start from. Do you know if the HSE would have public records of the regulations from back when all of the separate health boards were running things? My assignment requires references from articles and official records in order to achieve good marks.

Bang Bang that bit on Dr Pantridge will be very useful too! I'll delve further into his career and use what is relevant.

I really appreciate the information you provided. Thanks very much lads!

MN_Medic

inflatedeagle wrote: »

Do you know if the HSE would have public records of the regulations from back when all of the separate health boards were running things? My assignment requires references from articles and official records in order to achieve good marks.

As each regional health board had their own ambulance service at one time you'd need to find the head office for each reagion (8 I think) and hopefully someone there can help with information on the local procedures at the time. In the north east region the headquarters is in Navan.
Some people in your local station who've been in the job prior to the establishment of the HSE may know who to talk to or have what you're looking for. It's the people in the job for many years that will give you the best info going back.

As your study involves changes in paramedic practice I think the college would be the best place to start.