GCU paramedics join NHS’s COVID-19 response

Glasgow Caledonian University’s paramedic students have joined the Scottish Ambulance Service in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

95 students on the BSc Paramedic Science programme, Scotland’s only full-time undergraduate course in the field, joined the NHS emergency response on Monday 13 April. They’ll be based at the NHS Louisa Jordan makeshift hospital at the Glasgow SEC site on the banks of the River Clyde.

BSc Paramedic Science Programme Lead Samantha Paterson, from the University’s School of Health and Life Science College of Paramedics, said:

“We are very proud that 70 per cent of our students across all years are going into employment with the Scottish Ambulance Service to assist transport provision at the NHS Louisa Jordan site from next week.

“We work very closely with the Scottish Ambulance Service and much of the training is very hands-on so they are well prepared for the workplace.”

A total of 32 first-year and 35 second-year students are being employed as ambulance care assistants and 28 third-year students are being taken on as ambulance technicians.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has thanked the students for their support during the ongoing pandemic. Pauline Howie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said:

“We are very thankful for the student paramedics offering their support in these challenging times. This is an unprecedented situation and the support we have received right across the country has been amazing. If we all work together we can manage the impact of this virus in Scotland.”