By Kiran Randhawa
The Evening Standard
LONDON — About 100 frontline ambulance posts are to be axed in the capital, it was revealed today.
The positions will be lost as part of cuts affecting about 3,400 staff at the London Ambulance Service. Tens of thousands of NHS jobs are to go as health trusts struggle with £20 billion of government cuts over the next four years.
Richard Webber, the LAS’s director of operations, expressed concern about losing the posts at a time when paramedics are busier than ever. The service, which has a budget of £281 million, has seen 999 calls rise by almost one third since 2004 and now handles almost 1.5 million a year.
Chief executive Peter Bradley said the LAS faced tough financial challenges and had difficult decisions to make. “We’ve already achieved savings of £18 million this year without impacting on staffing numbers; however, with increasing demand on our service and no extra funding, we have no choice but to look at reducing our staff budget as well as other costs,” he said.
“We need to save £14 million in the next financial year and, as 80 per cent of our expenditure is on staffing, we are anticipating a reduction in frontline posts. Part of the savings will come from not filling approximately 100 frontline vacancies.” These include positions for paramedics and ambulance technicians. The LAS has attended almost 43,500 more incidents than last year Ñ an increase of 4.5 per cent.
Mr Webber said: “My concern is we are seeing an increase in demand, a reliance on services that are still being developed and a reduction in the amount of staff we have to respond.” He said the LAS also expected a 10 per cent increase in activity during the Olympics next year and was trying to secure extra funding for that.
It has already been announced that 500 jobs will go at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, 486 at Kingston Hospital and 635 at Barts and the London NHS Trust. More than 600 posts will also go in the capital’s mental health trusts. NHS London expects about 2,000 jobs to go at London’s 31 primary care trusts.
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