These 400 "extra" staff
Dear East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust,
Your Trust keeps announcing it will be taking on 400 extra "student paramedics" although these won't qualify for over 2 years and some will possibly fail and others will leave before completing their training. Your recent responses (F18202 and F184610) show that in the past 18 months or so over 250 fully qualified paramedics, technicians and ECAs have actually left your Trust.
Unless you can demonstrate otherwise some of these 400 extra staff will be filling existing vacancies, not significantly adding to the number of staff on the road. I also remember your Trust had 200 unfilled vacancies for years anyway while it paid millions to private ambulance companies.
200 historical vacancies plus 250 staff who have since left = -450. 400 extra staff won't even take you up to your old establishment.
Can you tell me if you are going to recruit 450 + 400 staff or are your often repeated claims a bit misleading?
Yours faithfully,
J Lowe
Dear J Lowe
Thank you for your email dated 12th September 2014 where you requested information regarding the East of England Ambulance Service.
Your request will be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and we will respond to you within twenty working days. Your request has been allocated the following reference: F18515 and I would be grateful if you could quote this reference in any future correspondence with the Trust.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
FoI Officer
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Dear J Lowe
Further to your email dated 12th September 2014, please find the Trust's response below.
From the outset the Trust has been very clear that it is looking to recruit 400 student paramedics in this financial year. This target will be exceeded by the end of the financial year, and the latest position is that 503 contracts have been offered to student paramedics (58 of these are from existing ECAs); more than 200 have already started their training with the Trust.
In addition the Trust has been looking to recruit as many graduate and qualified paramedics and qualified emergency medical technicians (EMT). So far 76 paramedics/graduate paramedics/EMTs have joined or been offered contracts and have start dates.
The Trust is already starting to plan for 2015/16 and it is likely that it will be recruiting student paramedics in equally large numbers again.
I am obliged to advise you that if you are dissatisfied with the Trust’s response to your request you have a right to complain to the Trust and should set out your concerns to the Freedom of Information Officer, EEAST, Hospital Approach, Broomfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 7WS or by email to [East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust request email]. If you remain dissatisfied following this, you have a right under Section 50 of the FOIA to seek a determination from the Information Commissioner on whether the Act has been properly applied by the Trust. For more information, please see www.ico.gov.uk.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information.
Kind regards
FoI Officer
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Dear East of England Ambulance Service
I am not sure your response makes much sense.
You have said you want to recruit 400 extra staff but then seem to have found money to have 445 (I am not including those who already worked for you as ECAs)
A possible explanation is that you are trying to cover for already qualified paramedics who are continuing to leave.
Anyway, 445 students plus the 76 others who should all be starting soon, less the 200 previously unfilled posts and those 250 who have already left = a net increase of just 71.
Your repeated claims about hundreds of "extra" staff seem to be rather misleading.
Yours sincerely,
J Lowe
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