Almost 120 new staff join East of England Ambulance Service amid winter demand
More than 50 paramedics have joined the service
Almost 120 more staff have joined the East of England Ambulance Service in the last three months.
The service, which covers Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, said 119 frontline healthcare staff include 53 newly qualified paramedics and 48 emergency care assistants.
It also said the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is on course to recruit more than 450 people in this financial year.
The recruitment drive aims to cope better with winter demand; last December, the EEAST saw more than 110,000 999 calls made with 45,000 of them for people with either serious or life-threatening injuries.
Tom Abell, chief executive of East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said:
“These cold months significantly increase the demand for our services and we’re reaching out to all of our communities for their support.
"You can make a difference by making use of alternatives from 999 when it’s not an emergency and by taking extra precautions to avoid common winter risks.
“We have taken action and increased the number of frontline clinicians we have on the road and within our control centres, and we’re planning for the future by offering better career development and working to increase our frontline teams further over the coming months."
The EEAST said it's looking towards a five-year workforce plan which aims to improve career progression and upskilling its workforce.