Five ambulance trusts dispatched technicians, who have less training than paramedics, to almost 300,000 calls last year RUI VIEIRA/PAThousands of ambulances have been sent out to emergencies without a paramedic, freedom of information figures have revealed. Five of the ten ambulance trusts in England dispatched technicians, who wear a similar uniform to paramedics but have received less training, to almost 300,000 calls last year, the figures show. The NHS staff dealt with more than 155,000 patients who had life-threatening conditions, including heart attacks and seizures. Julie-Ann Bond, 44, who worked as an ambulance technician for five years, told the Daily Mail that they were making the same decisions as paramedics and were sent on more calls than them. Ambulance services for the East Midlands, West Midlands, London, northwest and southeast coast said that technicians were trained to handle the majority of emergencies and…

Source: The Times November 27, 2017 01:30 UTC