New legislation for frontline staff wearing seatbelts

An amendment to legislation means frontline staff are exempt from the requirement to wear a seatbelt when providing urgent treatment to patients in the back of an ambulance from 2^nd March.

This ends the current legal position which means that staff could potentially have been liable to be prosecuted for removing their seatbelt to provide a medical or health intervention to a patient whilst in the back of an ambulance.

This is positive news for all ambulance services as it alleviates any doubt that may have existed with previous legislation.

Published 26th February 2015