Queensland Paramedics to join the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme

 
Queensland paramedics have now joined the other 14 regulated Health Professions in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for Health Professions (the National Scheme).

Read all about the National Scheme here.

What does this mean?

Only people registered with the Paramedicine Board of Australia (the Board) will be able to lawfully call themselves a 'paramedic', claim to be qualified to practise as a 'paramedic' or hold themselves out to be a 'paramedic'.

Benefits for our patients and our paramedics

In the prehospital environment, registration will assist in strengthening accountability and providing transparency among health care practitioners.

For patients, paramedic registration improves safety by providing assurance that registration standards are met and maintained by individuals who are registered as paramedics.

As with other health care professions, members of the public are able to access registration details of paramedics. Further information can be viewed at the Board or the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) website.

What is the role of the Paramedicine Board of Australia?

The Paramedicine Board of Australia’s role is to regulate paramedics in Australia under the National Scheme.

The Paramedicine Board of Australia and AHPRA have worked closely with major employers, stakeholder groups and the paramedicine profession as part of the transition to registration process to ensure there is a clear understanding of what is required for the profession to smoothly transition into the National Scheme.

Keep informed with the Board’s progress here.

History of the National Scheme

The National Scheme was established in 2010 to ensure the safety of consumers of health services provided by registered health practitioners.

Prior to paramedics joining, more than 700,000 practitioners from 14 registered health professions were regulated nationally.

Under the National Scheme, National Boards and AHPRA work together to ensure that practitioners are appropriately qualified and competent to practise as a registered health profession. National Boards exercise functions in accordance with the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law 2009, as in force in each state and territory (the National Law).

Visit AHPRA's website for further information.

What do I do if I have a complaint about a health service or a health service provider?

Queensland differs from other states and territories by providing a co-regulatory arrangement for complaint handling between the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) and National Boards and AHPRA. The OHO is an independent statutory authority and the one place a health consumer can go if they have a complaint about a health service provider in Queensland.

The OHO’s role is to:

• receive and investigate complaints about health services and health service providers, including registered and unregistered health practitioners.
• decide what action to take in relation to those complaints and, in certain instances, take immediate action to protect the safety of the public.
• monitor the health, conduct and performance functions of the AHPRA and national health practitioner boards.
• refer complaints to other appropriate agencies for further action, the principal agencies being the National Boards and AHPRA.

Further details can be viewed on the OHO website.