'Risk to public': Paramedics regulator unable to remove criminals
The Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council in Ireland has repeatedly warned the government that it lacks the legal authority to remove practitioners with criminal convictions from its register. Despite years of warnings, the council remains unable to address this public safety concern.
Why it matters
The inability of a regulatory body to remove dangerous individuals from a medical register poses a significant risk to patient safety and public trust.
Correspondence obtained by RTÉ Prime Time under Freedom of Information shows that the independent regulatory body overseeing paramedics and emergency care technicians in Ireland has been repeatedly warning successive health ministers of risks to the public due to weaknesses in its powers.
The Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) is responsible for "protecting the public by independently co-ordinating, developing, reviewing, regulating, and governing standards of excellence for the safe provision of quality pre-hospital emergency care."
It maintains a register of practitioners who meet training and skills standards for working in ambulance services.
However, in a series of letters starting in 2021, the Council has warned it does not have the legal power to remove individuals it deems to be of concern from its register, including people with criminal convictions.
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