Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 125: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she is satisfied that private and public ambulance services are appropriately subject to standards inspection, vetting of staff and other quality control measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20201/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) sets educational qualifications and lays down standards for provision of ambulance services in the statutory, private and voluntary sectors.

Since its establishment in 2000, the Council has worked in particular to ensure that pre-hospital personnel in the statutory, private and voluntary sectors are appropriately trained for the roles which they carry out. It awards qualifications at three levels under the National Qualifications for Emergency Medical Technicians scheme; these levels are emergency medical technician (the minimum qualification), paramedic and advanced paramedic. PHECC registers all qualified pre-hospital practitioners, including those in private and voluntary services, and has implemented practice standards for practitioners, through clinical practice guidelines, and for emergency ambulances. In addition, the Health Information and Quality Authority is at present leading the development of response time standards for pre-hospital/ambulance services.

PHECC's functions also include the recognition of ambulance service providers, subject to compliance with a range of service standards specified by the Council. These standards require that evidence be provided of:

Garda security clearance for personnel;

Appropriately qualified and registered staff;

English language competency assurance;

Access to ongoing training;

Clinical records management;

Clinical audit;

Medical oversight; and

Professional liability insurance.

The HSE, Dublin Fire Brigade and all private ambulance providers have provided the Council with the required evidence on the specified matters. Inspection of private ambulance services has commenced and inspection of statutory and voluntary services is pending. All private ambulance services contracted to provide services on behalf of private health insurers or the HSE must first go through an approval process, and all have been inspected.

Ireland is the only jurisdiction where the statutory requirements for registration of practitioners, approved clinical practice guidelines and organisational approval to use them apply to the statutory, private, voluntary and auxiliary sectors. This country is also the only jurisdiction in which statutory registration applies to all three levels of Ambulance personnel (Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics and Advanced Paramedics).

As part of the Government's decision to rationalise a number of separate State agencies, the functions of the PHECC will be assigned as appropriate to other statutory bodies. Work is under way to identify the appropriate agency/agencies and to give legal effect to this decision.