Edith Cowan University (ECU) lecturer and PhD candidate Alecka Miles has called for a shift in how paramedicine is seen and funded outside of emergency ambulance care, amid nationwide healthcare shortages.

Ms Miles has been a paramedic for almost 20 years, but these days, rather than being out on the road combatting emergencies, she’s based at a GP clinic in suburban Perth as a community paramedic.

According to Ms Miles’ own academic research, a community paramedic is a health professional providing person-centred care in a diverse range of settings to address the needs of the community. 

Their practice may include the provision of primary health care, health promotion, disease management, clinical assessment and needs-based interventions.

Ms Miles said paramedics brought a unique skillset into a primary healthcare setting that went beyond driving ambulances.

“I think we’ve been overlooked as a health profession resource because people don’t fully understand what we do,” she said.

“We’re seen as the ambulance people, but paramedicine is the profession; an ambulance is just the vehicle that a lot of paramedics work in.”

The intricacies of the paramedic skillset was often overlooked, Ms Miles said, given they worked primarily in uncontrolled environments.

“Whether it’s a car accident or if we’re trying to get people who have had a fall out of their house that has limited room for equipment, we’re used to thinking creatively to find solutions,” she said.

“We are quite flexible and we’re good at communicating, which works well in teams.”

She said paramedics were uniquely placed to collaborate with nurses and doctors, as well as other allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and OTS.

While it was vital to have enough paramedics available to perform emergency health care services, there needed to be a shift in funding, Ms Miles said.

“We don’t want to lose all of our paramedics to these roles,” she said.

“But I think if there was more established funding where, say, in general practice and primary healthcare, we have a GP coordinating care within a multidisciplinary team, we can better treat people in the community for unscheduled urgent and primary healthcare situations.” 

Paramedics themselves may also benefits from moving into primary healthcare settings, in areas such as work/life balance, more favourable shift times, and spending more time with patients.

But, they would likely require additional training to prepare them for working in primary healthcare, urgent care, extended care, or other community paramedic roles. 

“The courses help paramedics to apply their knowledge and critical thinking in different contexts outside of emergency care,” Ms Miles said.
 
“Paramedics get pigeonholed as the people who take people to hospital, but in my clinical work we can prevent people from having to go to hospital.

“Or, if they do need to go to hospital or be treated outside of general practice, we can help make sure they see the right health professional for their condition.”