The capital’s Ambulance Service has called its new training centre at the Elephant and Castle a “success”, having already welcomed more than 120 student paramedics since it opened its doors in October.
The 13,000 sq ft Hannibal House has the capacity to train up to 220 students at any one time – up to seven times the amount of other training centres used by the Service.
Education centre manager Adam Harding said: “Having all the students in one place for their three-year course means we can make the best use of the latest techniques and technology to train the new recruits to a very high standard. We have a great facility here in south London and the paramedics of the future will benefit greatly.”
After nine weeks of study the first trainees have embarked on a four week placement, allowing them to put into practice what they have learnt in the classroom and giving them a flavour of real-life emergencies in real-life situations.
Harding said: “The student paramedics will be responding to calls alongside practice placement educators who are there to aid and assist, so they can deal with genuine emergency calls. It gives them experiences they just do not get in the classroom.”
