Medics in 60pc of ambulances
Only six in 10 ambulances in the West Midlands have paramedics on board, it has been revealed today.
But Staffordshire Ambulance Service is the one trust in England where patients are guaranteed a paramedic in rapid response cars.
The two services, which are the best performing in the country according to the new figures, are set to merge later this year.
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has the highest number of frontline paramedics on ambulances – 61 per cent – with some areas of the UK seeing only a third of vehicles carrying fully trained staff.
Most ambulance services are staffed by Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who are not permitted to carry out some clinical procedures or give out a wide variety of drugs. Government minister Andy Burnham has admitted the most skilled staff are not always available to deal with emergencies.
Murray MacGregor, spokesman for WMAS, said today: "The latest statistics show that apart from Staffordshire we are consistently the best performing ambulance service in the UK."
He said the trust was planning to train 130 paramedics this year and that EMTs were very highly trained staff. Critics claim the ambulance service is at crisis point because of a paramedic shortage.
Jonathan Fox, spokesman for the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel and Serving Paramedics, said: "We've seen patients suffer or even die as a result of not having that access to paramedic response."
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal London has the lowest number of paramedics and Wales the highest.
Tonight With Trevor McDonald investigates the situation, on ITV1 at 8pm tonight.
