Private ambulances increasingly used to respond to 999 calls

Private ambulances increasingly used to respond to 999 calls Figures for ambulance trusts in England showing sharp rise in spending on private operators add to concerns over NHS crisis. Ambulance services are increasingly calling in private firms to respond to 999 calls in the latest sign that NHS care providers are struggling to cope with the sharply rising number of patients who need urgent medical attention.
The London ambulance service (LAS) has had the biggest increase among England’s 10 regional ambulance trusts. The amount it spent on private ambulance providers soared from £700,000 in 2011 to £10.1m last year, a thirteen-fold increase. Continue reading...  The Guardian