Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service (Qatar) education and training, and accreditation system

Being an Emergency Medical Technician or a Paramedic can be highly demanding and comes with significant patient care responsibilities, however it is not universally recognised as a profession. Training for pre-hospital care professionals varies greatly from country to country and pre-requisite qualifications can range from nothing to a full university degree. Benchmarking to accepted international standards through an accreditation process is a way of ensuring quality. For an Ambulance Service with a broad operational remit, accreditation can be obtained at several levels and in specialised domains. The Joint Commission International (JCI) provides accreditation to healthcare organisations to promote rigorous standards of care, patient safety, education, and quality improvement. In the area of air patient retrieval and transport, EURAMI Accreditation (European Aeromedical Institute) demonstrates the quality of an air medical service according to specific standards in relation to capabilities, management policies, personnel training and qualifications, aircraft configuration, communication, and operations. Similarly Communication Centres can also obtain accreditation from the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) to demonstrate up-to-date public care and efficient resource utilisation to achieve the best possible results in emergency situations. To constantly ensure the readiness of EMS staff, simulation is playing an ever increasing role which can be accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) to demonstrate adherence to sound educational principles in terms of facilitator credentials, resources, debriefing approach, and assessment. In Qatar, the very significant reliance on an expatriate workforce has significant implications for the organisation to ensure the standardisation and delivery of effective patient care, and the general operation of the Ambulance Service. To that effect education and training play an important role in introducing new recruits to the local Clinical Practice Guidelines, Code of conduct, and standard operating procedures, and ensuring they adhere to these.