Date published: 14 July 2021

EMAS will receive £3,758,000 as part of an extra £55 million funding boost from NHS England to ambulance trusts to increase staff numbers ahead of winter.

The funding aims to help services to recruit more 999 call handlers, crews and clinicians to work in control rooms.

Each service will decide locally how best to spend their budget to increase staffing numbers such as offering part time workers full time roles, recruiting extra call handlers or offering staff incentives to help with retention. 

Richard Henderson, Chief Executive of East Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “We welcome the extra funding from NHS England to provide additional support for our ambulance service.

“This money will enable us to put in place initiatives to respond to the ongoing pressure on the ambulance service, including investing in additional 999 call handlers and clinical advisors in our control rooms.

“We will now work with our commissioners and integrated healthcare systems to agree the use of the additional funding in our area.”