Open 24 hours, every day of the year
If you are searching for a Basic Ambulance Assistant course, start here — because the route has changed. The BAA short course no longer entitles anyone to register with the HPCSA, and has been replaced by formal emergency care qualifications. This page explains what changed, what the route looks like now, and where Ralmed fits.
At a glance
What changed
Not any more. The Basic Ambulance Assistant course was for years the standard way into pre-hospital emergency care in South Africa. In 2011 the Health Professions Council's Professional Board for Emergency Care resolved to discontinue the short-course route — BAA, Ambulance Emergency Assistant and the Critical Care Assistant paramedic course — in favour of formal, registered qualifications.
The dates matter. From 1 February 2018 the BAA qualification no longer entitled a person to register with the HPCSA in that category, and from 1 February 2020 the same applied to the Ambulance Emergency Assistant qualification. People who registered before those dates keep their registration; the courses simply stopped being a door into the profession.
So if you are looking for a BAA course today, the honest answer is that finishing one would not make you registrable. The route now runs through higher education: a one-year higher certificate at entry level, a diploma above it, and a degree for the advanced practitioner. Confirm the current requirements directly with the HPCSA before you pay anyone for a course.
Who this affects
Three quite different people arrive at this page, and they need three different answers.
If the goal is to work on an ambulance, the route is a registered qualification at a recognised institution, not a short course. Check the HPCSA's current requirements first.
If you want people on your site who can handle an emergency, you almost certainly want workplace first aid — Level 1, 2 or 3 — not a clinical qualification.
Registration obtained before the cut-off dates is not affected. If you are unsure of your own status, the HPCSA register is the place to check it.
School leavers and people moving into emergency care, who need to know what to apply for and where, rather than which short course to buy.
The route
The short courses were replaced by a ladder of registered qualifications. Each one is a real academic programme at a recognised institution.
| Level | What it is | What it replaced |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level | A one-year higher certificate in emergency medical care | The old Basic Ambulance Assistant and, at the level above, the Ambulance Emergency Assistant short courses |
| Mid level | A diploma in emergency medical care | The older emergency care technician qualification |
| Advanced | A degree in emergency medical care | The former Critical Care Assistant paramedic short course |
What to do
01
A career in emergency care, or the ability to help at work? They are different things with completely different routes.
02
Confirm the current registration requirements with the Health Professions Council directly, then apply to an institution offering the registered qualification.
03
Workplace first aid at Level 1, 2 or 3 is accredited, quick, and exactly what an employer needs on site. It is not a clinical registration and does not pretend to be.
04
Anyone still selling a BAA course as a route to registration is selling something that has not worked that way since 2018. Ask what registration the course leads to, and verify the answer.
Not sure which route you need? Call us and we will tell you straight.
We employ these people. Ralmed runs an ambulance service staffed by registered emergency care practitioners, so we deal with these qualifications as an employer, not as a college selling a course.
We will tell you not to buy something. We do not sell a route into HPCSA registration. If that is what you need, this page points you to it rather than to us.
We do train first aiders. If workplace capability is the real need, our accredited first aid training is exactly that, and it is delivered at your premises.
Accredited where it counts. Our first aid and OHS training is accredited through HWSETA and the QCTO.
The difference
This is the distinction that matters most, and the one that trips people up when they search for an ambulance assistant course.
These are the things that set the price:
If you are an employer, talk to us about first aid. If you want to work in emergency care, talk to the HPCSA and a recognised institution first. Call 086 1725 633 either way.
Your options
Here is what each option actually gives you, so you can tell which one answers your question.
| Option | What it is | Suits | Things to weigh up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered emergency care qualification | A higher certificate, diploma or degree at a recognised institution | Anyone who wants to work in pre-hospital emergency care | A year or more of full-time study, with entry requirements |
| Accredited workplace first aid | A short accredited course at Level 1, 2 or 3 | Employers, appointed first aiders and anyone wanting practical capability | Does not make you registrable or employable as a clinician |
| A short BAA-style course | A course marketed under the old short-course name | Nobody, as a route to registration | Has not led to HPCSA registration since 2018 — verify before paying |
Get started
If you need workplace first aid, we can help directly. If you want a career in emergency care, we would rather point you correctly than sell you something.
Training room
89 Impala Road, Kelvin View, Sandton
Or we come to your premises.
Accredited workplace first aid at Levels 1, 2 and 3, occupational health and safety training, fire fighting, risk assessment and incident investigation — all delivered at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa.
See our first aid training, or all our accredited medical training.
Questions
Courses using the name may still be marketed, but the qualification no longer entitles anyone to register with the HPCSA as a Basic Ambulance Assistant. Registration in that category closed on 1 February 2018. Before paying for any course, ask exactly what registration it leads to and verify that with the HPCSA.
The HPCSA's Professional Board for Emergency Care resolved in 2011 to move away from short courses toward formal, registered qualifications. The reasoning included concerns that the short-course content and duration did not match what the pre-hospital environment demands, and an oversupply of graduates relative to available posts.
Formal higher education qualifications in emergency medical care: a one-year higher certificate at entry level, a diploma above it, and a degree for advanced practice. They are offered by recognised institutions rather than as short courses.
People who registered before the cut-off dates keep their registration; the change closed the route in, it did not remove those already through it. If you are unsure of your own standing, check the HPCSA register directly.
No. Ralmed is an emergency medical service that employs registered practitioners, and an accredited provider of workplace first aid and health and safety training. We do not offer a route to HPCSA clinical registration, and we would rather say so than take a booking for one.
Almost certainly not. What an employer needs on site is accredited workplace first aid — Level 1, 2 or 3 depending on the risk. That is what the Occupational Health and Safety Act contemplates, and it is a short course rather than a year of study.
A first aider holds an accredited workplace certificate and helps until the ambulance arrives. An ambulance assistant held a clinical registration with the HPCSA and worked on an ambulance as a job. The first is training; the second was a profession.
The entry-level qualification is a one-year programme, with longer routes above it. Because programmes and requirements change, confirm the current position with the institution and the HPCSA rather than relying on any provider's summary, including this one.
No. Level 3 is the most advanced workplace first aid certificate, and it is genuinely useful on a high-risk site, but it is not a clinical registration and does not qualify anyone to work in pre-hospital emergency care.
With the Health Professions Council of South Africa, which maintains the registers and sets the requirements, and with the institution offering the qualification. This page was last reviewed in September 2026.
Related training
If workplace capability is what you need, see first aid Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3, or the full range of accredited medical training.
Tell us what you are trying to achieve — a career in emergency care, or capable people on your site — and we will point you at the right route, even when it is not ours.
