Updates regarding the regulation of paramedics

Paramedic Registration update - The Appointment of the Inaugural Paramedic Council of New Zealand

Tena Koutou Katoa;

Nga mihi nui, Koutou, he maanakitanga ki te mahi ano, no reira tena Koutou, tena Koutou, tena Koutou.

On the 24th June the appointment of the inaugural Paramedic Council of New Zealand was Gazetted – an historic moment indeed.

Following on from the extensive work the Paramedic Registration Advisory Group has been undertaking since the inclusion of the Paramedic Council under the HPCA Act late last year, the Paramedic Council will now take up the mantle and continue to put the processes and systems in place to enable paramedic registration to be realised in the coming months.

We would like to congratulate the new Council members on their appointment:

Appointments to the New Zealand Paramedic Council

Pursuant to section 120 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, the Minister of Health has appointed:

Bronwyn Tunnage
Sean Thompson
Michelle Mullooly

as health practitioner members of the New Zealand Paramedic Council, for a three-year term of office commencing on the publication of this notice; and appointed

Carlton Irving
Nigel Watson

as health practitioner members of the New Zealand Paramedic Council, for a two-year term of office commencing on the publication of this notice; and appointed

David Ivory

as a layperson member of the New Zealand Paramedic Council, for a three-year term of office commencing on the publication of this notice; and appointed

Bernadette Pereira

as a layperson member of the New Zealand Paramedic Council, for a two-year term of office commencing on the publication of this notice.

Dated at Dunedin this 21st day of June 2020.

Hon Dr DAVID CLARK, Minister of Health.

We would like to especially recognise the members of the Paramedic Registration Advisory group for their commitment to progress paramedic regulation, and especially the immense support received from the Nursing Council of New Zealand who have been fantastic to work with. The Advisory group holds its last meeting on the 3rd July and will formally hand over to the Paramedic Council following that. It is expected that the Paramedic Council will hold its first meeting in late July and will elect a chairperson at that meeting.

We wish the Paramedic Council every success on the important voyage to implementing Paramedic Registration – He waka eke noa.

Nga Mihi

David Waters – Chair, Paramedic Registration Advisory.

30th June 2020

COVID 19 Update

We would like to reassure you that work is still going on in the background in preparation for the next Paramedic Regulatory Advisory meeting scheduled in early May. We have been informed that there was a great response to the Ministry advertisement for nominations for the inaugural Paramedic Council. At this point the Ministry has provided a candidate selection paper to the Minister's office - we are currently awaiting his decisions on membership but the Ministry and Minister’s attentions are elsewhere at the moment, so there is no indication at this stage of when the Council might be appointed. We will let you know as soon as we receive an update from the Ministry Appointments Committee.

We would like to acknowledge the work that paramedics are providing during this difficult period.

Paramedic Registration Update

Paramedic Registration under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance (HPCA) Act 2003 was announced in November 2019. This is a significant moment for the Paramedic profession in New Zealand.

From 1 January 2020 Paramedics are formally recognised and registered under the HPCA. This will give additional assurance to the public of New Zealand that Paramedics are appropriately qualified and competent to practice. This will also enable the establishment of the Paramedic Council – equivalent to the Medical Council or the Nursing Council. Importantly, the independent Paramedic Council will be made up of both Paramedics and lay people who will oversee registered Paramedics into the future.

Nominations for members of the Paramedic Council will be sought early in 2020. Once the Council is established, it will spend some time setting up the new standards and processes required before all Paramedics must be registered.

In the meantime, we have established a small workgroup, The Paramedic Regulatory Advisory to start collating some of the documentation the Paramedic Council will need once they are in place.

It is important to note, this workgroup and will be disbanded, once the Paramedic Council are selected by the Minister of Health through the Appointments Committee process. All decisions regarding Paramedic registration will be made by the Paramedic Council in due course.

This interim workgroup has been selected based on the individual’s networks, involvement in establishing Paramedic regulation elsewhere, access to relevant standards, documentation, data and knowledge of the regulatory framework.

We expect a lot of consultation will commence in the second quarter of 2020 once the Paramedic Council start meeting – this will include professional standards, codes of practice, cultural competencies etc.

In order to keep registration costs to a minimum, we have partnered with the Nursing Council to assist the Paramedic profession to establish the Paramedic Council. This will not only minimise cost, but we get to draw on the Nursing Council’s vast experience in developing regulatory processes and to share their existing administrative systems.

We are establishing a new website to keep the sector informed of progress and the transition to the Paramedic Council – you can view it here - https://www.paramediccouncil.org.nz

There will be a lot of work for the Paramedic Council but at this point we are aiming for registration to commence in the latter part of 2020.

Kind regards, The Paramedic Regulatory Advisory WG