Union blasts East of England Ambulance Service for axing 21 frontline ambulances
GMB Union has criticised East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) after it confirmed it would be slashing 21 ambulances from its frontline services.
On April 1, 41 ambulance staff were made redundant as the trust scales back its Medicare EMS contract due to costs.
Medicare EMS provides ambulances and staff to EEAST and was given just six weeks to tell the impacted staff.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson explained: “The trust has made the decision to reduce its use of private ambulance providers as part of our planning processes for 2025/26.
“We have been in contact with Medicare and its recognised union, GMB, to provide information about how their staff may wish to join EEAST as NHS employees in the future.”
But GMB’s Donna Thomas said the move has “demonstrated once again a blatant disregard for patient safety”.
She said: “Their decision to remove ambulances and staff from the frontline could potentially put lives at risk. The specially trained ambulance staff should have been offered the opportunity to transfer elsewhere in the trust.”