Background Over the last decade, paramedics in the United Kingdom (UK) have increasingly taken up clinical employment away from ambulance services, with many moving into primary care settings. Reasons for this move are multifactorial and interwoven. However, in an effort to retain the paramedic workforce, rotational roles between ambulance services and primary care providers have been initiated.

Methods An online survey was distributed via the College of Paramedics to paramedics in primary care in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The survey utilised both qualitative and quantitative items to better understand the scope of role undertaken by paramedics in NHS primary care and explore the perceptions paramedics in primary care have on their contribution to primary care teams. This presentation will focus on the results relevant to paramedics who rotate between ambulance services and primary care settings only.

Results The survey was completed by 341 paramedics. Of these, 10% worked one day a week in a rotational role. The most common job title was Advanced Paramedic Practitioner (44%) or First contact Practitioner (25%), though other job titles were also reported. Of particular note is the correlation between hours worked and attending presentations such as catastrophic haemorrhage (rs=.109, p=.044), anaphylaxis (rs=.127, p=.019), angioedema (rs =.140, p=.009), seizures (rs =.147, p=.007), and overdose/poisoning (rs =.200, p=<.001), where respondents who worked in a rotational role attended these presentations to a greater extent.

Conclusion The survey highlighted the variety of work that paramedics in rotational roles undertook in primary care, however paramedics in these roles attended emergency presentations in primary care to a greater extent when compared to their full-time counterparts. Whilst the ability for paramedics to attend emergency presentations in primary care may be a benefit for primary care providers, this does little to develop their primary care clinical acumen.