Accimed

Accimed Medical Services

Accimed is a leading emergency service which aims to provide a quality, efficient, professional and caring emergency medical and rescue service within Durban and surrounding areas.

There are several different qualifications of medical staff who work on ambulances. This starts with:

Basic Life Support (BLS)

These practitioners provide Basic Medical Care interventions to patients in Emergencies. This includes CPR, stopping of bleeding, helping women in labour and other non-invasive procedures. To be Basic Life Support you need Matric, Code 10 Drivers License and PrDp. To be qualified as a Basic Ambulance Attendant (a one month course) and be registered with the Health Professional Council of South Africa.

Intermediate Life Support (ILS)

These practitioners provide Intermediate Medical Intervention including IV therapy (drips) Bronchodilators, Defibrillation (shock) chest decompression etc.

To be an Intermediate Life Support you, need 1000 operational hours as BLS, pass the pre-course examination for entry into ILS course, then complete the four month training course and register as ILS at the HPCSA. Plus all other requirements as for BAA.

Emergency care technician (ECT)

Part of the selection criteria for KZN EMS staff to attend the ECT course the staff must be an AEA and pass several other entrance exams, including a test paper and fitness test. There is then followed with two years for formal training. The scope of practice of an ECT is only slightly less that of the advanced life support paramedics. The vision for is that ECT’s replace the ILS as the mid-level worker in the EMS field.

Advanced Life Support Paramedic

This category of staff are pre-hospital Advanced Skills providers. This includes: Advanced Airway Management, IV Drug Therapy upto schedule 7 drugs, Advanced midwifery , Advanced Resuscitation, Aviation Medicine, Marine Medicine.

Patient Transport Services

Its main function is to transport patients, normally with chronic illnesses, who are not ill enough to require to be transported in an ambulance but who require transport for non-emergency referrals between Hospitals and from PHC Clinics to Community Health Centres and Hospitals.

These trips are planned and the patients attend prearranged appointments, after being referred to a particular clinic. The appointment letters are normally used to book places on the busses. The patients are seen as out patients at these hospitals and are transported back after their appointments.

Advice to people when phoning any emergency number:

Give full details of the reason for calling the emergency number (there has been a car accident etc.)

Answer all the questions you are asked

Do not exaggerate the extent of the emergency

Do not hesitate to give a phone number that you can be contacted back on

Provide clear and exact directions to where the emergency is