Portugal Shifts Ambulance Training to Fire Academy, Mandates 5-Year Renewal

Portugal’s pre-hospital emergency training is heading for its biggest shake-up in two decades. From next year, courses that used to be stamped by medical schools will be run almost entirely by the National Firefighters’ School (ENB), while the National Institute for Medical Emergencies (INEM) retreats to a narrower, regulatory role. Critics warn of a "race to the bottom", yet the Government argues the overhaul will deliver faster, more uniform instruction for the country’s 9,500 ambulance professionals.

Why it matters – in one glance

• All certified ambulance training moves to ENB, sidelining medical faculties.

• INEM keeps only institutional modules on the Integrated Medical Emergency System (SIEM).

• Recertification becomes mandatory every 5 years.

• Medical schools fear a loss of clinical rigour; unions predict “under-skilling”.

• Fire brigades must scale up classrooms and instructors before January 2027.

Training overhaul leaves universities sidelined

The decision, rubber-stamped on 14 January as “Deliberation 3/2026”, removes six flagship courses – including Basic Life Support (SBV), Advanced Life Support (SAV) and Pediatric ALS (SAVP) – from INEM’s portfolio. Those programmes had relied on partnerships with Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon medical faculties since the late 1990s. Under the new model, universities will stay involved only for doctors’ continuous education, not for the bulk of ambulance crews.

What changes for ambulance crews and paramedics

For future recruits, the entry path is shorter but more segmented. A candidate must now:

Earn an Ambulance Crew (TAS) certificate at ENB.

Pass INEM’s Introduction to SIEM module and protocol drills for the chosen response level (SBV, SIV or SAV).

Undergo a competency check every 5 years, either through refresher courses, an exam or proof of field experience.

Unions representing about 3,000 technicians argue that compressing classroom time and swapping university lecturers for firefighting trainers could erode the scientific base of Portuguese pre-hospital care.

Firefighters’ Academy steps into the spotlight

The ENB already teaches most Portuguese firefighters, so its campus network in Sintra, Coimbra and Lousã will now welcome health-sector students as well. President Lídio Lopes says the school will recruit 120 extra instructors and invest €3.1 M in simulation labs. “We are not replacing doctors,” he insists, “we are centralising logistics so that every district has the same quality syllabus.”

Medical schools push back

Faculty deans say they were “caught off guard”. António Travassos, chair of the Council of Medical Schools, recalls that the Health Minister had publicly promised expanded cooperation with universities as recently as 2024. “Removing us from core training can only lower clinical standards,” he told reporters, hinting at possible accreditation challenges with European bodies.

Five-year licence renewals and stricter exams

For practising crews, the headline change is the five-year clock. Certificates obtained before 2026 remain valid, but holders must book a renewal slot by 31 December 2031. INEM will also replace its multiple-choice tests – which leaked online last summer – with adaptive, computer-based exams that randomise questions for each candidate.

Technology injection and next steps

Parallel to the curricular rewrite, INEM plans to roll out real-time telemetry defibrillators in 340 ambulances and to fit every response vehicle with GPS-linked tablets feeding patient vitals straight to the Coimbra and Lisbon dispatch centres. The procurement, worth €22 M, is bundled into the EU-funded Resiliência 2030 programme.

At a glance: how to stay compliant

Professionals can prepare by focusing on three pillars:

• Monitor expiry dates – start counting from the issue date on your ENB or INEM card.

• Gather proof of field hours – logbook evidence can replace parts of the recertification exam.

• Book early – ENB expects a backlog of 6 months during the first renewal wave.

With the clock ticking toward full implementation in 2027, Portugal’s emergency workers face a steep learning curve – not just in the back of an ambulance, but also in adapting to a training map that has been redrawn almost overnight.