East of England Ambulance Service recruits record number of new staff
Hundreds of new recruits have helped shave more than 30 seconds off EEAST's response time to life-threatening emergency calls
Last updated 10th Jul 2024
New stats show a record number of staff have joined the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) in the last year.
The trust says the more than seven hundred new recruits (717) have helped improve response times to emergency calls and will give patients a better experience.
Among these new recruits are 139 call handlers to take 999 calls.
Response times
For category one calls - the most life-threatening - the average response time has fallen from nine minutes and fifty-five seconds in May 2023 to nine minutes and twenty-one seconds in May 2024.
There's still a way to go to match the national target of an average of seven minutes, though.
Response times for category two calls - which include patients with stroke symptoms, chest pains and severe breathing difficulties - have fallen from 45 minutes and 44 seconds in December 2023 to 37 minutes in March 2024.
The current target for category two incidents is 30 minutes.
The trust says further work is ongoing to improve response times.
"Every role at EEAST helps us save lives"
David Allen, Head of Operations for Norfolk and Waveney says, “I’m really pleased to see how many new people are joining the Trust, enabling a quicker response to our communities. This will undoubtedly give our patients a better experience.”
Helen Adams, Head of Resourcing and Shared Services said: “We have been able to achieve this incredible milestone due to the hard work and commitment of our recruitment team - without them this wouldn’t have been possible...
"Our employees and volunteers play a vital part in ensuring our patients get the care they need, when they need it most. Every role at EEAST helps us save lives.”