South West ambulances 'not deployed' over staff shortages

South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust could spend up to £1m on agency staff this year in a bid to fill the staffing gaps

Ambulances are not being deployed in the South West due to a lack of staff, BBC News has been told.

South West Ambulance Service paramedic Gareth Ward said sickness and stress had resulted in instances of on-duty staff using cars instead of ambulances.

The trust could spend up to £1m on agency staff this year in a bid to fill the staffing gaps.

It said demand had increased and short-notice staff sickness was "extremely difficult to cover".

Mr Ward, who is also a representative from the union Unison, said response cars were always single-manned, whereas ambulances had two people in them.

"They just can't cover the shifts for a variety of reasons. If someone calls in sick on the day, people have to go into [response] cars," he said.

"Every day we have to drop ambulances.

"In a 12-hour shift we're going from job to job with very little time to eat, drink or go to the toilet, it's very stressful."

Money spent on agency staff

• 2012 - £0

• 2013 - £258,906

• 2014 - £473,797

• 2015 - £358,822 (Jan-April)

Source: Freedom of information request.

In response, a spokesperson from the service said: "The trust has a set number of resources, including fast cars and ambulances, available each day and night across the South West to ensure we can respond to the needs of our patients.

"However, short-otice sickness is extremely difficult to cover, as it is in any organisation, so where the control room is unable to crew two solo responders together, the member of staff would be asked to crew a fast car for the shift - thus making the best use of the staff member who is then still able to respond to patients."

'Longer wait'

Mr Ward said staff shortages meant those on shift had to work "doubly hard picking up that workload which will also run them down".

Neil Le Chevalier, the director of operations at the NHS foundation trust, said it had seen an increase in demand, which was "placing us under pressure" and some patients have to wait "regrettably longer than we anticipate but we do make sure all patients are welfare checked and their wellbeing is looked after while we get the appropriate care sent to them".

The trust employs 3,934 whole time equivalent members of staff, but has a current shortage of 119 paramedics.

It said that despite the staff shortages the trust was "currently exceeding the national target for the most immediately life-threatening calls" and there had been a "rising demand for ambulance services across the country".

The Trust added it hoped to have all 119 vacancies filled by the end of March.