New drug arsenal for paramedics

Paramedic will be able to administer more drugs

Two potentially lifesaving drugs for heart attack and meningitis victims can now be given by paramedics on the scene.

A change in the law means that ambulance crews can administer a wider range of drugs and treatments.

These include the "clot-busting" drug streptokinase, which, if given swiftly after a heart attack, can save lives.

In addition, paramedics will be able to give injections of benzylpenicillin where they suspect the patient has meningococcal septicaemia.

This is the "blood poisoning" caused by the meningitis bug. The more quickly antibiotics are administered, the more chance the patient has of surviving the infection.

Health minister Gisela Stuart said: "These additions to the list of drugs paramedics can administer will improve patient care in emergency situations such as heart attack.

"I am very pleased that these advances in pre-hospital treatment and care will soon be widely available as we modernise and extend the expertise of the NHS ambulance service."

Poor record

Research has shown that only one heart attack patient in 10 receives streptokinase within the target 60 minutes of an attack.

It is suggested that as many as 1,800 lives a year could be saved by allowing paramedics to administer the drug.

Ms Stuart made the announcement while visiting Mersey Regional Ambulance Service headquarters in Liverpool.

This was the first urban ambulance trust to meet the government's new national targets for emergency calls.

She said: "Just using an ambulance to carry a person from A to B is simply not the way forward.

"Paramedics have, very much on the quiet, expanded their role.

"Paramedics have a record of using the powers available to them and getting on with it and I am very grateful for that."

A spokewoman for the British Heart Foundation said: "An efficient fast-track response is vital to ensure that patients have the best possible chance of recovery following a heart attack.

"If patients receive clot-busting therapy straight away they are more likely to survive, so this announcement is good news for patients."