Ambulance service to boost jobs in three counties

An ambulance trust which covers the East of England says it is adding another 99 frontline staff.

The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) financial and operational plans for the next 12 months were agreed by health commissioners this week.

The trust said the extra roles would be created in its emergency operations centres in Bedford, Chelmsford and Norwich.

A spokesperson for the trust said: "This will help us answer 999 calls faster, and improve response times."

In a report to health commissioners, the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board said EEAST would need the posts if it was to meet its "category two" call-out targets, which require an ambulance to arrive within 30 minutes.

The current average is 34 minutes.

The ambulance trust, which has 5,000 staff, said the extra roles created would include call handlers to answer 999 calls and staff for its Clinical Advice Service.

The advice service would support patients over the phone, freeing up ambulances to respond to more urgent calls.

A warning notice was served to EEAST by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) earlier this month.

It was issued the notice due to multiple failures in several areas, including staffing levels and call wait times.

The emergency service was rated as "requires improvement" after its last inspection in 2022.

At the time of the notice being served, on 15 March, EEAST said it had made "rapid improvements".

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