Jobs boost for 999 crew

More than 100 staff are to be recruited onto West Midlands ambulance crews to cope with rising numbers of 999 calls.

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust announced today it is aiming to take on 150 new Emergency Care Assistants (ECA) over the next few months.

It has also ordered 60 new ambulances and 30 new rapid response vehicles for 2008.

The new jobs will mean an increase of more than five per cent in the number of Accident and Emergency crew members, who work on board ambulances as drivers and assistants alongside paramedics.

The move comes as the service expands to meet increasing demand for 999 services. Calls are up by more than six per cent on last year and some days have seen increases of over 20 per cent on the average, according to the trust.

Trust chief executive, Anthony Marsh said: "The organisation is constantly improving to meet the needs of the people of the West Midlands.

"Services are being expanded with over 60 new ambulances and 30 rapid response vehicles being delivered this year and more will be ordered in 2008.

"We are training our staff to ever higher levels with 130 becoming paramedics this year and a similar number will be trained in 2008-09.

The trust is taking on 80 extra staff in Birmingham and the Black Country, 15 in Coventry and Warwickshire, 30 in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire and 25 in Staffordshire.

Mr Marsh added: "The fact that we had so many applications the last time we recruited for ECAs shows how popular it is."

For more information about the role log onto www.jobs.nhs.uk or call the WMAS recruitment hotline on 01384 24 64 64.