Shropshire ambulance shortage as crews hit by staff sickness
Shropshire's ambulance service has been operating below the mandatory level, a frontline paramedic revealed today.
The Shropshire paramedic, who asked not to be named, claimed over five days last week seven ambulances had been covering the Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin area, despite the statutory level being nine.
Murray MacGregor, communication director for West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), confirmed that last Monday and Tuesday they had been down to seven ambulances but said it was due to short-term sickness. The other three days, Mr MacGregor said, either 10 or 11 ambulances had been on duty.
The paramedic, who works in the Shropshire area, said: "We are meant to operate on nine ambulances minimum but over the past five days we have only had seven covering the whole of Shropshire. And that has included just two covering Telford from Donnington.
"Recently there was an emergency transfer from the Princess Royal in Telford to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and they had to wait for an hour and a half. And Thursday or Friday evening last week there was a cardiac arrest in Oswestry and the nearest available ambulance was 40 minutes away.
"We are understaffed, undermanned and we do not have enough vehicles – the majority of my colleagues would back me up when I say the level of service is simply inadequate. I find myself apologising to people half of the time, it is embarrassing to say you work for the ambulance service at times like this.
"I feel highly emotional about this because I live in Shropshire and I wouldn't want my family to receive this standard of care."
Mr MacGregor said: "There were two days where we had seven ambulances on night shifts due to short-term sickness.
"We plan years in advance for the rota shifts but if you get short-term sickness and nobody replies to the overtime texts we send out then there isn't an awful lot we can do."
