produces first EMRS graduates of the Emergency Care Technician (ECT)âs
certificate in South Africa
26 March 2009
24 Emergency Medical Rescue Services personnel today graduated from the
North West province EMRS College and are ready to accelerate service delivery,
especially in the rural areas. The personnel enrolled for Emergency Care
Technicians certificate two years ago as part of the countryâs quest to train
more EMRS personnel in order to respond to emergencies effectively.
These Emergency Care Technicians will have the ability to make decisions as
practitioners with limited, but independent practice, thereby ensuring that
appropriate and efficient quality care is given particularly in the remote and
rural areas where effective quality health care delivery is required.
392 students are currently enrolled in the three EMRS colleges Orkney (North
West), Lebone (Gauteng), KwaZulu-Natal as well as the South African Military
Health Services (SHAMS). It is expected that more students are going to be
graduating from these other colleges over and above the 24 graduated today. All
the students on the programme are funded by the provincial health departments
through a bursary contract which ties them to the funding departments for a two
year period.
North West province and its EMRS College is the first college to gain full
accreditation.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Deputy Health Minister Dr Molefi
Sefularo said the qualification is of benefit to the emergency care profession
as it provides a consistent and coherent foundation for practice at an entry
level and progression within the profession in the context of a national
qualifications framework.
Dr Sefularo said the certificate also provides a means for the critical
function of formal certification and registration within the profession, thus
ensuring society is served by competent Emergency Care Technicians.
The deputy health minister who is also driving the department's health
preparations for the soccer spectacular said the Confederations Cup in June
this year and the 2010 FIFA World Cup will also benefit from the in-depth
knowledge and skills of the Emergency Care Technician who will be able to
respond effectively to emergency medical care and disaster situations.
The introduction of this programme by the Department of Health forms part of
initiatives to introduce a new mid-level worker qualification for an Emergency
Care Technician (ECT) and address the pressing human resources challenges
facing health delivery in the country.
Enquiries:
Tebogo Lekgethwane
Cell: 078 170 0037
E-mail: TLekgethwane@nwpg.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Health, North West Provincial Government
26 March 2009
