Paramedic bid success
19 January 2009
LJMU becomes largest North West provider of paramedic training.
JMU has won a major contract from the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS), making it the region's largest provider of paramedic training. 
The successful bid is founded upon a longstanding collaborative partnership with NWAS dating back to 1998 and builds upon the well-established portfolio of programmes for qualified paramedics.
NWAS selected the University to provide the Diploma in Higher Education Paramedic Practice following a three-stage tender process, enabling a further 40 students to become paramedics. The new two-year programme will run alongside the popular Foundation Degree in Paramedic Studies, already provided by LJMU in collaboration with NWAS.
Shirley Congdon, from the Faculty of Health and Applied Social Sciences, said: "We currently have 120 students on the Foundation Degree in Paramedic Studies and over 800 others on a waiting list for the course. We're delighted to have won this contract as not only does it reflect the success of our collaborative partnership with NWAS and the quality of our teaching and facilities but importantly it enables us to help more students realise their dreams of becoming paramedics."
The Diploma in Higher Education Paramedic Practice will start in September 2009. Thanks to LJMU's established links with the North West NHS Strategic Health Authority, students will have access to a range of clinical work placements. The University's extensive collaborative relationships with the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, Merseyside Police, NWAS, Merseyside Coastguard and HM Revenue & Customs Border Patrol will also enable students to take part in real-life emergency scenarios.
Training takes place in LJMU's state-of-the-art Paramedic Suite. Equipped with ambulance-standard equipment such as immobilisation boards, resuscitators and life-sized mannequins, students are able to practise different emergency techniques under the direction of LJMU's expert pre-hospital team. This team of nine paramedic academics is the largest in the UK. All members of the team maintain clinical practice with NWAS.
Due to the anticipated interest in the new Diploma, the University is hosting two information sessions for candidates, taking place at 3.30pm and 6.15pm on Tuesday, 3 February, in the Stanton Fuller Lecture Theatre, 79-81 Tithebarn Street. Places are limited so to secure a place please book in advance online at www.ljmu.ac.uk/opendays/80143.htm or by calling call 0151 231 5090.
