Losses mount in ranks of paramedics

By Chen Xiaoru Source:Global Times Published: 2012-8-22 23:15:03

About one-tenth of Shanghai's paramedics have resigned this year due to their high qualifications and relatively low salaries, local media reported Wednesday.

The flurry of resignations exacerbates an already significant paramedic shortage in the city as the ambulance service grapples with higher seasonal call volumes, according to a press officer surnamed Zhang with the Shanghai Medical Emergency Center.

"The summer started early this year, so we are sending ambulances on 30 percent more runs than we did over the same period last year," Zhang told the Global Times.

The center, which oversees the city's ambulance service, currently employs no more than 540 paramedics, barely half the number that city needs, Zhang said.

According to the local government's most recent five-year plan, the city is supposed to have at least 1,000 paramedics on staff.

So far this year, the Shanghai Medical Emergency Center has lost 57 paramedics, exceeding the total number who quit over the last three years combined, Zhang said.

The shortage begs some sober questions about whether the quality of the service is degrading. In February, a 70-year-old man died while waiting for an ambulance to arrive, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post. It took an ambulance 29 minutes to make it to the downtown location after police called the emergency center, which spent 13 minutes tracking down one that was available.

The center said it takes 12 minutes on average for an ambulance to arrive at an emergency, according to a report in Wenhui Daily.

The recent spate of resignations is rooted in the low salaries that paramedics earn, though Zhang said that the center has recently raised salaries in an effort to prevent more from leaving.

Nonetheless, the average paramedic's salary in Shanghai remains low, especially considering their qualifications.

The average monthly salary for an experienced paramedic ranges from 4,000 yuan ($630) to 5,000 yuan, depending on their shift, Zhang said.

The salary is on par with what an entry-level doctor can earn at a local public hospital, an insider told the Global Times in May.

Unlike some countries where one can become a paramedic with a two-year college degree, paramedics in China, who are referred to as "ambulance doctors," must have a medical degree. There are no educational programs in China that specifically train paramedics, said Li Minghua, a paramedic trainer for the center.

The situation has left the profession at a competitive disadvantage.

"Medical students are reluctant to work as paramedics because they are overqualified," Li said.

The paramedics who resigned this year were all experienced and between 30 and 40 years old, Zhang said. Most of the paramedics working now have been on the job for less than five years.

 



Posted in: Society, Metro Shanghai

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