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 or qualified nurse.
[1] 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[2] and referrals from GPs also potentially failing to deliver management of demand that would be appropriate for this different level of practitioner.
[3] 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.
Allied healthcare professionals (such as nurses and paramedics) are now able to undertake postgraduate training to become Advanced Clinical Practitioners, working in NHS emergency departments and primary care settings.
ECPs in South Africa are educated from the level of BHSc EMC (Bachelor of Health Science in Emergency Medical Care; B.EMC (Bachelor of Emergency Medical Care) or the older BTech EMC (Bachelor of Technology in Emergency Medical Care) - each of which requires 4 years full-time study or an additional 1-2 year part-time study for those already in possession of a National Diploma in Emergency Medical Care - (N.Dip EMC) up to the level of PhD EMC by thesis.