Welcome
Paramedics
Overview of the role
Paramedics are highly skilled professionals who work in general practice within a multidisciplinary team. They are registered health care professionals, also referred to as an allied health professional (AHP). A paramedic is trained to assess and triage patients and undertake a comprehensive physical assessment for patients of all ages. They can provide definitive treatment, or make necessary referrals to other members of the primary care team.
A typical day can include:
- Triaging patients
- Carrying out telephone or face to face consultations
- Ordering and performing tests
- Making referrals
- Carrying out home visits
First Contact Practitioner (FCP)
FCP roles began in 2014 to support GPs as part of an integrated care team and to optimise the patient care pathway by seeing the right person in the right place at the right time. The role has since evolved and created assurance that there is a standardisation of quality provided across multiple professionals at this level of practice to assure governance, patient safety, ensuring capability to see and manage undifferentiated and undiagnosed presentations within an agreed scope of practice.
What is a First Contact Practitioner?
- A First Contact Practitioner (FCP) is a diagnostic clinician working in Primary Care at the top of their clinical scope of practice at Agenda for Change Band 7 or equivalent and above. This allows the FCP to be able to assess and manage undifferentiated and undiagnosed presentations.
- It is the minimum threshold for working as a first point of contact with undifferentiated undiagnosed conditions in Primary Care. With additional training, FCPs can build towards advanced practice.
- To become an FCP, recognition is required through Health Education England, whereby a clinician must have completed a taught or portfolio route.
- FCPs refer patients to GPs for the medical management of patient presentations and pharmacology outside their agreed scope of practice.
- FCPs work at master’s level in their clinical pillar of practice but have not yet reached an advanced level in all four pillars of practice to be verified at AP level across all four pillars.
- The clinician must typically have 3-5 years post preceptorship experience before starting primary care training to become an FCP.
First Contact Practitioner FAQs
Resources
NHS England and Health Education England have co-published this guidance document which describes the scope of practice of paramedics working in general practice. It includes information on education/development needs, supervision requirements and the differences between enhanced, first contact and advanced levels of practice – B1847-Paramedics-in-general-practice-1.pdf (england.nhs.uk)
Paramedic specialist in primary and urgent care core capabilities framework – Paramedic Specialist in Primary and Urgent Care Core Capabilities Framework.pdf
Paramedics must be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and must meet all the standards of proficiency to register and meet the standards relevant to their scope of practice to stay registered – Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Paramedic Standards of Proficiency Paramedics | (hcpc-uk.org)
