§ Mr. BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are trained nationally in paramedic skills to the National Health Service training authority standard; and how many to the National Health Service modular scheme standard.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThere are about 2,000 ambulance staff who hold the full NHSTA Certificate in Extended Training. In addition there are another 2,000 staff who have either received extended training on some of the three NHSTA modular or under local training schemes.
§ Mr. BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the qualitative differences between the two National Health Service standards of paramedic training for ambulance staff
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe National Health Service training authority certificate is the only national training standard for paramedics. Some authorities have elected to train in one or two of the three training authority modules, for example, cardiac care, and others provide training to local standards.