Basic Life Support Paramedic at Joint Medical Holdings

PURPOSE OF POSITION

• To provide transportation of patients, who require a responsive level of care and assistance, providing emergency aid, where appropriate and within the scope of practice, in order to preserve life, prevent further injury or deterioration and promote recovery by subscribing to the highest level of integrity and professionalism.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS

• Adhere to medico-legal responsibility while ensuring that all the necessary and appropriate documentation is duly completed and processed.
• Adhere to the general principle of pharmaceutical administration which is that of titrating the minimum dose to the desired effect / response.
• Maintai 100% compliance with the most recent HPCSA-approved standards and guidelines applicable to BLS service delivery.
• Demonstrate adherence to HPCSA-approved protocols by limiting clinical interventions to those authorised within the BLS scope of practice, with no instances of non-compliance.
• Conduct patient handovers in accordance with HPCSA requirements, ensuring continuity of care through transfer to appropriately qualified personnel and maintaining responsibility for delegated actions where required.
• Apply sound clinical judgment in all patient interactions, ensuring treatment decisions align with HPCSA-approved BLS guidelines and the patient's clinical presentation.
• Demonstrate appropriate escalation and consultation with ILS/ALS practitioners or medical practitioners in complex, high-risk, or challenging clinical situations to support optimal patient outcomes.
• Maintain 100% compliance with medico-legal and organisational documentation requirements by ensuring all patient care records, reports, and associated documentation are accurately completed, submitted, and processed within prescribed timeframes.
• Administer pharmaceutical interventions in accordance with approved clinical guidelines, ensuring medications are titrated appropriately to achieve the desired therapeutic effect while prioritising patient safety.

COMPETENCIES (The following will be advantageous)
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

(Educational Qualifications & Experience)

• Successful completion of BAA / BLS course that allows registration with the HPCSA as BAA
• Current registration with the Professional Board of Emergency Care Personnel/ HPCSA as a BLS.
• A valid PRDP for passengers
• A valid Code 08 driver's license
• Successful completion of BAA / BLS course that allows registration with the HPCSA as BAA
• Current registration with the Professional Board of Emergency Care Personnel/ HPCSA as a BLS.
• A valid PRDP for passengers
• A valid Code 08 driver's license

COMMUNICATION
INTERNAL

• Driver Co-ordinator
• Operations Manager
• Nurses
• JMH staff

EXTERNAL

• Doctors
• Patients
• Patient families

YEARS/ MONTHS OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• 1 Year post-graduate patient care experience in an operational environment would be beneficial
• Must be over 21 years

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY/ DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY

• Net Profit – No
• Sales - No
• Assets – No
• Salaries and wages – No

OTHER JOB SPECIFICATIONS FOR THIS POSITION

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.
• The position requires significant physical strength and dexterity and the ability to function in very adverse environments with exposure to numerous safety risks typically found at emergency scenes.
• The following guidelines are used to describe the frequency of activities in this position: Occasionally equals l%-33%; Frequently equals 34%-66%; and continuously equals 67%-100% of a typical work day.

STANDING/WALKING

• Frequently walking and responding to calls.
• Standing or walking is optional while at rest at the facility.
• This usually includes: going to and from the emergency vehicle, getting patients from their locations, and rendering treatment.
• Most walking would be for short distances, as emergency vehicles are allowed to get as close to the location as possible.
• The incumbent must also be able to run these same distances, in case of an emergency where time is of the essence.
• Walking and running may vary, however, as the patient may be located inside a large, multi-floored facility.
• Standing, walking and running could be on all types of surfaces, including but not limited to: asphalt, cement, concrete, soft/packed dirt, linoleum, wood, hardwood floors, etc.
• The individual must be able to go up and down slight inclines or declines that may be found at roadsides, agricultural areas, etc.
• At a location, standing would occur more often than walking or running.
• Standing would occur on the wide variety of surfaces mentioned above.
• Standing could last from a few minutes to hours, depending on the situation.
• Standing in the standard erect position.
• Kneeling or squatting position.

SITTING

• When responding to a location, the individual will frequently sit in the emergency vehicle.
• The emergency vehicles are equipped with a standard installed vehicle seat.
• The time performing the sitting activity on a call would depend upon the specific situation.

LIFTING AND CARRYING

• Will be required to lift and carry weights ranging from a few kgs and above.
• Occasionally required to lift and carry weights scaled at above 45kgs or more.
• Incumbents will need to lift and carry, with one team member, adult patients, lifting them from various positions (such as a bed or a chair) onto various patient movement devices, such as an ambulance stretcher, a stair chair, long back boards, etc., and then efficiently move them into an ambulance.
• Other heavier objects in the high range category would be 1.6m, 30cm diameter oxygen cylinders, and medical equipment boxes.
• The oxygen cylinders can be made of quarter-inch steel and weigh up to 50kgs.
• The medical equipment boxes can weigh approximately 22 kgs or more.

BENDING AND STOOPING

• Throughout a work shift the incumbent will be required to bend in a range of 1 to 90 degrees.
• The average situation will require the individual to work in a range of 35 to 65 degree bends.
• This would involve: lifting a patient, lifting equipment, treating a patient at ground level, sitting on a bench located in the ambulance.
• This activity may be prolonged and last up to 30 minutes or more.
• During any given call, the provider may bend and/ or stoop 1 to 15 times per incident.

CROUCHING AND KNEELING

• Frequently, crouching and kneeling may be performed when on the scene picking up equipment or assisting patients.
• The actual number of times this is done depends on the particular incident but may be up to 15 times for a duration up to 30 minutes or greater.

CLIMBING

• Climbing steps up and down with a patient on a stretcher or other device, and when entering or exiting the emergency vehicle.
• Generally, the climbing would be that the incumbent will be lifting and carrying heavy objects such as a stretcher or other device with a patient on it.
• Balancing may be required when backing down staircases.

REACHING

• Reaching frequently and continuously throughout the work shift in order to operate communication equipment, administer oxygen and operate equipment.
• The incumbent may also be required to reach in precarious positions, such as in a vehicle, which has been crushed in an accident, or in other confined spaces.
• If working inside the ambulance en route to a medical facility, the incumbent will need to reach to access the patient and supplies.
• Reaching will involve partial to full extension of the arms.

PUSHING AND PULLING

• The activities that would require the most force in pushing and pulling, is when removing or returning a gurney to the emergency vehicle with and without a patient on the gurney.
• The weight required to push/pull will vary, depending on the weight on the gurney.
• Slight pushing will be required if the incumbent is performing CPR, which can require repetitive pushing and may range from a few minutes to hours.
• Pushing and pulling is required when operating and closing vehicle doors.

HANDLING OR GRASPING

• Continuously, while working at any given location, continual bilateral gross manipulation is performed in this position.
• This may be involved when: opening/closing doors; and using, handling, carrying and /or operating medical equipment boxes that may weigh approximately fifty (50) pounds or more, such as stretcher rails, various handles attached to equipment, and tools.
• The arm and hand must be able to perform all types of positions, including supination and pronation.
• Hyperextension, extension and flexion of the fingers will be involved, ulnar and radial deviation, abduction and adduction of the hand and wrist will be required.
• A wide variety of grasping will be required, such as cylindrical grasping, palmer grasping, hook grasping, tip grasping and lateral and spherical grasping.

HAZARDS

• The incumbent, when responding to emergencies, can be exposed to dust, fumes, gases, fire, smoke, adverse weather conditions, and chemicals.
• There is potential for bodily harm or death from violent patients, bystanders, or other dangers.
• At all times the incumbent is expected to adhere to all applicable policies and procedures concerning safety and the prevention of contamination and infection due to blood borne pathogens.