The Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Flemish socialist) has announced that the budget for emergency medical assistance will be increased to almost 240 million by 2025. Mr Vandenbroucke made the announcement during the opening of a new ambulance station in a building that belongs to the Ghent College of Higher Education HOGent. The increased budget is intended to help those that provide emergency medical assistance to meet the need for ever greater professionalism.
This year, the budget for emergency medical assistance has been increased to 146,170,000 euro. Next year, it will rise to 239,670,000 euro.
Mr Vandenbroucke says that additional resources are needed to professionalise and better manage the service. In addition to the increased funding Mr Vandenbroucke has announced clear guidelines for hospitals with that have recognised emergency medical assistance ambulances. A clear definition of PIT (Paramedical Intervention Team) services and occasional and intermediate ambulances will be given in a decree.
PIT
The Paramedic Intervention Teams (PIT) were set up in the 1980s to deal with medical emergence requiring expertise and equipment that hitherto had not always been available in basic ambulances. What what is missing, however, is a regulatory definition of what an PIT ambulance should be, and how it should be financed.