EMAS '˜needs '¨an extra £20m' for new staff

If granted, EMAS would use the funding to recruit a further 300 members of staff, mainly on the frontline.

Richard Henderson, Chief Executive at East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “Despite the efficiencies made at EMAS there is a fundamental gap between the resources we need and the funding we presently receive.

“This is demonstrated by national benchmarking undertaken by the National Audit Office, and a formal review undertaken jointly with commissioners.

“These resources are essential if we are to meet the present requirements of our population, as well as remain responsive to the continuing growth in demand.

“In response to this evidence, we have requested additional funding of £20 million per annum on a phased basis from our commissioners.

“This funding would enable us to increase the number of clinicians and ambulances that we have on the road so that we can improve both our ambulance response times overall, and minimise the risk of prolonged waits.

“As we would need to recruit and train staff and secure additional ambulances, these changes would not happen overnight; however, we are ready to move forward with these plans with urgency if commissioners approve the funding requested.

“Although we continue to strive for improvements, we do not believe that it is possible to achieve national standards in full without these essential additional resources.

“While we await a response from our commissioners, we continue to focus on delivering the best possible care that we can to our patients.”

The news comes as it was revealed that a woman was recently fined for calling 999 more than 740 times over a three month period - including 97 times on Christmas Day - despite having no medical need to do so, costing the NHS £13,276.

The woman pleaded guilty to ‘persistently making use of a public communications network to cause annoyance, inconvenience and anxiety’ in court last month.

The court ordered her to pay compensation of £2,000 to EMAS, and was banned from calling the emergency services for five years other than in a genuine emergency. She was also sentenced to a 12 month community order, 15 days of rehabilitation activity, and will receive mental health treatment.