INEM to hire 200 new prehospital emergency care specialists

The government has authorized the recruitment of 200 new pre-hospital emergency care specialists for INEM to strengthen the care and triage of patients in medical emergencies and ensure the operational capacity of the institute’s various resources, it was announced on Monday.

The National Institute of Emergency Medicine (INEM) said in a statement that the opening of the new competition, which should take place in the next few days, provides for the filling of another 200 places in this professional category in the INEM staffing card, which will now have 1,095 specialists in the special career of emergency physicians in the pre-hospital phase (TEPH), if all the vacancies are filled.

In an effort to recruit as many TEPHs as possible, the new call for proposals will distribute vacancies at regional level, with the largest offer going to the Northern Regional Delegation with 90 vacancies, followed by the Lisbon, Vale do Tejo and Alentejo Regional Delegations with 50 vacancies, the Central Regional Delegation with 40 vacancies and the Algarve Regional Delegation with 20 jobs.

“TEPH is INEM’s most important professional career and an important health professional in the country’s emergency medical network, as they provide the first response to pre-hospital medical emergencies,” he emphasizes, stressing that their actions can be critical to the survival of people suffering from sudden illness or injury.

TEPH activities include performing functions in Emergency Patient Dispatch Units (CODUs) and assisting with the transport of urgent and/or emergency patients.

The 200 new technicians to be hired will be responsible for, among other things, answering, triaging and providing telephone counseling to CODU calls, as well as activating, monitoring and managing emergency medical resources in accordance with established protocols and under the supervision of a coordinating physician.

They will act in prehospital emergencies, applying emergency care necessary to preserve human life, quality of life and reduce suffering, within the limits of their expertise, and will “follow medical decision-making protocols based on the professional training acquired.”

INEM recalls that in April 2016, Decree-Law No. 19/2016 was published, which regulated the career of the INEM emergency medical technician and created and defined a specific career regime for emergency medical technicians in hospitals.

INEM is the body of the Ministry of Health responsible for coordinating the work of the Integrated Emergency Health System in mainland Portugal, in order to guarantee that victims of accidents or victims of sudden illness receive prompt and appropriate medical care.

Thanks to the European emergency number (112), the institute has many ways to respond to medical emergencies.