A paramedic attends to an emergency situation, whether it is a medical emergency or an accident, and assesses the situation to provide any immediate treatment that could potentially save someone’s life. Paramedics do an extremely worthy job, and this is not up for debate. But what kind of remuneration do paramedics receive on average, and is this fair compensation for the valuable work they do?
Paramedics are essentially health care workers and must be registered with the Health Care Professionals’ Council. There are different training pathways to become a paramedic, including a graduate degree or diploma, and depending on the mode of study, courses can last between two to five years.
Paramedics working with the NHS are part of the emergency ambulance crew, usually assisted by an emergency care assistant. Paramedics are usually the first healthcare professionals to arrive on the scene of the accident, injury or medical emergency, and so they need to assess the situation, the condition of the patients, and take necessary emergency measures before the patient can be transported to a hospital.
Depending on the situation, paramedics may have to provide treatment to people involved in road accidents, other accidents, fights, medical emergencies like heart attack or stroke, and their work often involves resuscitation, defibrillation, setting up drips, oxygen supply, and administering proper emergency medication. As such, paramedics need to be skilled, knowledgeable, efficient and resourceful.
Paramedics are the first on any emergency scene and as such, probably end up saving the most lives. A paramedic’s job can be immensely rewarding, but also highly demanding. The fact is that paramedics carry out work that is physically and emotionally taxing, highly skilled and requiring some unique skills. But the current scale of remuneration that paramedics receive does not seem to reflect this fact at all.
Paramedic Salary UK
Paramedic jobs within the NHS are banded at bands 5 and 6 of the NHS Agenda for Change Pay rates. The starting salary of a paramedic usually falls under band 5, which means a salary of between £ 21,176 to £ 27,625, and senior paramedics draw a salary from band 6, which can be between £25,528 and £34,189. Remuneration for trainee paramedics is not banded at this level, and depends on the particular ambulance trust.
There is clearly disparity between how much paramedics get paid, and the worth of the work they do. This disparity is especially conspicuous when compared to salaries of the highest paid professionals in the same hospital. In contrast to the compensation paramedics receive, consultants can earn a basic salary of £70,000 – 75,000 per year, and some consultants and specialist surgeons can earn upwards of £250,000 per year!
Paramedics need to administer highly complex and potentially lifesaving treatment, often under highly stressful conditions. It is the paramedics who manage the situation in a pre-hospital setting, often with few resources, and limited time. Despite this, paramedics seem to receive very modest remuneration for their services. The current salary range for paramedics is far from sufficient, and perhaps it is time to change that.
