Live issues - H&S in entertainment...

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The Event Safety Guide (HSG 195): Medical, Ambulance and first aid management
With changes in legislation and practices over time, it is inevitable that some areas of guidance will become out of date. We are currently engaged in a market research exercise as part of the process of revising and updating the Guide. However we’ve recently been asked whether we could clarify the position of paramedics and ambulance technicians.

We are aware that the Guide defines paramedics as members of NHS ambulance services registered with the Institute of Health Care and Development (IHCD) while this has now been replaced by the Health Professions Council (HPC).

The Event Safety Guide is guidance and you can comply with the law and good practice in others way if you wish. This includes areas where the guide has become outdated and new legislation or guidance is available that can be used to help you comply with the law.

There is no legal requirement on event organisers to use only NHS providers of medical cover, and HSE would have no objections to provision by a private contractor of paramedics registered with the HPC.

Similarly we would have no objection to the provision of ambulance technicians by private contractors as long as they were suitably qualified and equipped, etc.

To find out more about the HSEs involvement in the entertainment industry please follow this link