In the beginning of the Emergency care Practitioner role it was felt that we should have guidelines for clinical practice as well as clinical care pathways. In a very short space of time it has been realised that our role is so very dynamic that as soon as a guideline is written at local level it may be changed at national level by the specialists in their field. Such as the British Thoracic Society or BEST BETS.

As such the guidelines seen below are no longer used. However it does make for interesting historical reading. These days we have a flexible approach to maintaining competency of clinical care within the ECP role. We seek out a wide variety of health care professionals on a regular basis to ensure we are current. It is our responsibility to ensure competence and when asked to by our employer we furnish proof of competence from our portfolios.

I have been given permission by the ECP Project Lead to publish the Care Pathway Guidelines written by myself in 2004.

The publication remains the intellectual property of the South Western Ambulance Service (SWAST) and permission must be sought from SWAST prior to reproduction of elements of the guidelines.

It was written in filofax format but can be printed (for your personal interest only) in A4 by selecting this option in printer setup.

Mike Bjarkoy

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