Shropshire Star

Ambulance recruitment drive welcomed by Shropshire MPs amid crisis

Plans to recruit nearly 500 student paramedics for the region's hard-pressed ambulance service have been welcomed by MPs.

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The region's ambulance service is looking to recruit student paramedics

Telford's Conservative MP Lucy Allan and North Shropshire Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan have both urged people to apply for the positions with West Midlands Ambulance Service.

The recruitment drive comes as the ambulance service has been under severe pressure for a number of months.

Response times have lengthened, with the time ambulances take to get to patients significantly hindered by long waits to hand patients over at hospitals – particularly in Shropshire.

Health bosses in the county have been holding meetings with MPs to outline their plans to address the issues, which have seen patients waiting up to 24 hours for an ambulance, or more than 10 hours outside a hospital.

Telford MP Lucy Allan

Ms Allan said that there are a number of issues affecting ambulance response times, but that the new staff would help.

Mrs Morgan said that the move was positive, but that Shropshire's health system is suffering from "systemic failures" which need more significant action.

Ms Allan said: "It is hugely welcome that the West Midlands Ambulance Service is looking to recruit nearly 500 student paramedics to work on the NHS frontline.

"It is crucial that we future-proof the service so that it can meet the needs of residents and plan for its workforce requirements.

"I have met with key NHS stakeholders about severely delayed ambulance response times at present and I am assured that progress is being made.

"The current issues with ambulance response times have many causes but recruiting and retaining new student paramedics will help WMAS to provide a more responsive service that residents can rely on."

She added: "Improving healthcare in Telford is my key focus as we recover from the impact of the pandemic. In recent months we have seen progress with a new £40m diagnostic and screening centre opening in Telford soon and confirmation that a local 24/7 A&E service including same day emergency care will be provide at PRH.

"I would recommend all students in Telford considering a satisfying and rewarding career as a paramedic to follow up on this exciting opportunity to serve our community and I wish them every success."

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan

Mrs Morgan said: “This recruitment drive is welcome news and I encourage anyone interested in a rewarding career as a paramedic to apply.

“However while hiring extra ambulance staff is positive, it will not get close to solving the problem of huge delays handing over patients to hospitals. Last week one poor person had to wait 25 hours in Shrewsbury. These delays are not just due to a lack of paramedics but are the result of systemic failures ranging from inadequate social care to a lack of GPs and overwhelmed emergency departments.

“It is the Government’s responsibility to wake up and start taking Shropshire’s health crisis seriously. We need far more staff employed across the health service – that means more nurses, more doctors, more carers, as well as more paramedics.

“Ambulance response times are nowhere near good enough and it is poorly people in rural areas like North Shropshire who are forced to suffer the most as a result of this Conservative Government’s incompetence.”