Rosie Cooper MP comment on NWAS receiving military support

Following the decision to draft the military in to support the North West Ambulance Service, West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper commented:   

“Thankfully the army are able to help, and NWAS is now receiving the support they desperately needed but this is too little too late from Government!    

“It should not have come to drafting in the military to assist a public service that has been in dire need of support for years.    

“Staff absences due to Covid is definitely making matters worse, but waiting times have been above the target for years, even before the pandemic!   

“I have had to deal with countless numbers of people and families waiting hours and hours for help. Paramedics are working flat out but there’s not enough of them to get to the people who need them.   

“The Government talk about increased funding for ambulance services but what they don’t say is that it’s short term one off bits of cash.  

“What NWAS and other ambulance services need is a boost in recurrent funding, not one off lump sums for temporary staff and a month of military assistance. Only then will Ambulance services be able to recruit for permanent positions and make permanent improvements with the investment in staff and training benefitting everyone.”