A health minister has asked NHS England to look into a stricken ambulance trust that is asking patients to get a lift to A&E.
The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said staff should “consider asking the patient to be transported by friends or family.” See previous news story.
NEAS medical director Dr Mathew Beattie said the service had “no option than to try to work differently” amid Covid staff shortages.
However, Health Minister Gillian Keegan said she would ask NHS England to look into the situation.
She told Sky News: "That is not what we have put in place at all. We have more ambulance crews in operation than we have ever had."
“We also gave £55 million extra just for this period to cover staff and make sure we had increases in staff and staffing levels.
"I've actually asked NHS England to look at that particular case because that doesn't sound to me like that's an acceptable approach.
“People should be able to get an ambulance if they have a heart attack and that's why we've put that extra funding in place, and why we've been building up our ambulance service over the last couple of years."
Source: Mirror, 5 January 2022
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