Union calls for 'major surgery' on ambulance fleet in Peterborough and the rest of the East of England

There have been calls for ‘major surgery’ on ambulances in Peterborough and the surrounding area, after a union said a number of vehicles were off the road with maintenance issues.

UNISON EEAS branch chair Glenn Carrington said the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) needed to take action after workers were turned away from doing extra shifts because ambulances were not available.

EEAST have said they have put more vehicles into service to help cope with the busiest time of year – including leasing a number of cars for non-emergency incidents.

Mr Carrington said: “We’re going through a fleet crisis at the East of England Ambulance Service.

“I’ve lost count of the number of my colleagues who have turned up to do extra shifts only to be sent home because there aren’t the vehicles available. If ambulances aren’t spending most of the day queuing outside A&E, they’re off the road with maintenance problems.

“It’s clear that something desperately has to be done, but the trust is spending scant resources on sticking plasters when we need major surgery.

“Without markings or blue lights, paramedics won’t be able to rush to emergencies — they’ll be stuck in traffic unable. When they eventually reach the scene they may have to wait for backup anyway due to the limited equipment available in a hire car.

“But ultimately this boils down to a lack of cash. We need proper funding and investment from central government if we’re going to provide the ambulance service the public expects and deserves.”

An EEAST spokesperson said: “We have put more vehicles into service at the busiest time of year to better respond to people across the East of England.

“We have leased 15 cars to help us to respond to people who need medical help, but do not need an ambulance. We have also bought 12 Renault ambulances to get more crews on the road treating patients.

“In December, our response times improved compared to the previous year. We responded to category 2 calls – for serious conditions such as heart attacks and strokes - 75 minutes quicker. We recognise more work needs to be done to improve our response times, including continuing to improve and expand our fleet of ambulances.”