Over the past months we have been receiving a large amount of email regarding CFR's who are attending cases and acting outside their level of qualification and remit. Some examples of this include, clearing of 'c' spine, diagnosing presenting medical symptoms and informing patients what is wrong, advising patients on which hospital they will be taken to and on hospital procedures, explanations on medication, etc., etc. We are also informed that CFR's are being encouraged to complain about WMAS Staff if they have concerns. This is totally unacceptable and this website would welcome email from any member of WMAS Staff who has had particularly bad experiences with CFR's. The role is there to assist the ambulance service in stopping the clock and to provide immediate aid to the patient. Some are becoming a little too big for their boots and this is becoming a concern to Staff.
Any information provided by WMAS Staff through this website will be treated with complete confidence and no personal details will be released from any email received. In most areas, WMAS & CFR's work well together. However there are parts of the region where the CFR role needs to be clarified with some CFR's and people brought back into line before the situation becomes any worse.
We look forward to hearing from Staff.