More paramedics in the East of England to help care for patients this winter

Winter always brings pressures on the ambulance service and the wider NHS and EEAST has been planning for the seasonal increase in demand.

Last December the Trust saw a significant spike in demand with over 110,000 999 calls. 45,000 of those calls for people with serious or life-threatening emergencies.

Hundreds of medical professionals have been recruited to help care for patients this winter after a successful recruitment drive. The public can help them treat the patients that really need them by choosing the right service to call.

Anyone not facing an emergency that needs urgent advice, can call 111 or visit NHS 111 online.

In the last three months 119 frontline healthcare staff have joined EEAST. The new staff includes 53 newly qualified paramedics and 48 emergency care assistants.

The Trust is on course to recruit over 450 people this financial year with a further 395 in the pipeline.

EEAST is also looking longer term with a five-year workforce plan which includes a focus on upskilling the workforce and boosting career progression.

In 2021 EEAST signed up to a new BSc (Hons) apprenticeship paramedic degree course with University of Cumbria alongside seven other ambulance services.

The two-year course allows staff to continue to work in frontline roles at EEAST while studying and the second group of 18 staff have just completed the course, joining the first group of 20 which graduated in July with outstanding results. A further 68 staff are in the second year on the course.

The Trust has also introduced a new course at the University of Cumbria to accelerate career progression of emergency care support workers (ECSW), emergency care assistants (ECA) and similar role, meaning the qualification to become an emergency medical technician takes six months instead of 18.
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.

“By working together, we can make this winter safer for everyone.”