“Given the seriousness of the situation and the absence of structural reforms by the current leadership of the Institute, the public request for the resignation of the President of the Directive Council of INEM [National Institute of Medical Emergency] is reiterated, as an act of institutional responsibility and a minimum condition for the recovery of public trust,” states ANTEM in a communiqué.
The association asserts that “in the name of public interest, the dignity of pre-hospital activity, and the safety of the health system’s users, any inertia or complacency on this matter will be morally indefensible and institutionally negligent.”
In the communiqué, ANTEM mainly addresses the issue of training, beginning with an account of the “improper, widespread, and unauthorized access to the tests and answers of the Ambulance Attendant Course (TAS), ‘certified’ and promoted by INEM and the private sector.”
The association contends that the situation, based on “consistent information,” “constitutes a serious violation of the structural principles of any training process with a direct impact on the delivery of emergency medical care: ethics, technical-scientific rigor, transparency, and equity.”
According to ANTEM, the “informal and accessible circulation of evaluation instruments irreversibly compromises the already fragile reputation of the course in question,” jeopardizing “the quality and reliability of the training of professionals and volunteers who are part of pre-hospital emergency operational teams, in direct contact with critical and life-threatening situations.”
In light of the alleged events, the association calls on INEM to “immediately suspend ongoing courses and conduct an independent internal and external audit to verify the integrity of the ongoing evaluation processes, as well as to identify any internal and external control failures.”
In December, ANTEM appealed for the Ambulance Attendant Course (TAS) to be “urgently replaced by the Medical Emergency Technician Education Program,” arguing that this “will provide 90% of providers with better education and more technical skills for their mission—promoting better care for citizens.”
In today’s communiqué, the association reaffirms that the TAS course “does not meet the minimum criteria for scientific validity, technical update, or operational requirement, directly conflicting with the education and training standards practiced in the main international Emergency Medical Services systems.”
In December, the Health Activities General Inspectorate (IGAS) concluded that some pre-hospital emergency technicians at INEM enter the career without the necessary requirements.
In the draft report of the audit requested by the Minister of Health to assess the legality and efficiency of INEM’s management, IGAS states that the institute failed to ensure the delivery of training courses for Pre-Hospital Emergency Technicians (TEPH) as approved.
Specifically, it highlights the timing of this training (basic course) and the structure of internships in ambulatory or surgical block settings, adding that not all internships in ambulance-school were completed due to resource shortages.
