West Midlands Ambulance Service cuts agency staff spend by £2.8 million

It comes after bosses brought in a policy of focusing on employing its own workers wherever possible in a move they say ensures the public gets 'the best possible service'.

Figures released via a Freedom of Information request show WMAS spent £3,237,000 on agency staff in 2015/16, but over the past year the bill has fallen to £449,000.

The 86 per cent drop continues the pattern of reduced expenditure on agency staff, which usually cost far more to employ on an hourly rate than those taken on as WMAS employees.

Between 2014/15 and 2015/16 the agency staff spend was reduced by 19 per cent.

The figures also show that WMAS used no agency paramedics over the three year period. It is the only ambulance service in the country without any vacancies for paramedics.

WMAS spokesman Murray MacGregor said: "We feel that having our own staff is the right way forward and as a rule, our view is that we would prefer not to use agency staff at all.

"Due to having an excellent recruitment process we have no paramedic vacancies and do not require the use of Red Cross or other volunteers to bolster our team.

"This shows that not only do people want to come and work for us, but also that the people of the West Midlands are getting a very good service from us."

WMAS currently employs around 5,000 workers.

Earlier this year it became the first trust in the country to receive an 'outstanding' rating from health watchdog the Care Quality Commission.

The trust responds to around 3,000 emergency '999' calls everyday and sends out ambulances from more than 90 stations across the region.

Nationally, according to the data, a total of £31,718,252 was spent in 2016/17 on agency staff, down from £49,369,601 the year before.

However, it showed that some trusts are having to spend more on certain groups of staff, such as emergency support workers.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust saw a rise in spending on emergency staff from agencies, including paramedics.

It spent £2,301,377 on emergency staff in 2016/17, up from just £49,211 the year before and £1,608 in 2014/15.

More than £1.33m was spent on agency paramedics by three trusts in 2016/17, around half of the amount spent the year before.

They were South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (£835,000 in 2016/17), Yorkshire Ambulance Service (£176,693) and South Western (£317,905).