PARAMEDICS in Worcestershire and the West Midlands have been bucking the national trend, with the amount working within the NHS increasing over the past two years.

This week the BBC reported the amount of paramedics leaving NHS jobs had almost doubled in two years, with 1,015 leaving across the country in the financial year 2013-14 in comparison with 593 in 2011-12.

But West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust – which serves Worcestershire, Birmingham and the surrounding area – is showing a much rosier picture, with almost 200 more paramedics currently working for the organisation than there were two years ago.

Figures released by the trust show it employed 1,511 full-time equivalent paramedics in the 2013-13 fiscal year, up from 1,407 in the previous 12 months and 1,314 the year before that.

A spokesman from the trust said this number was set to increase further, with 414 student paramedics working with the organisation due to complete their two and half year training this year.

“Our staff work extremely hard and that workload has been increasing as the number of calls has risen steadily,” he said. “The increase in calls over the last 15 years has averaged almost five per cent per year, but this year it is running at around eight per cent.

“It is a credit to our staff that through their dedication we are able to continue to provide a very high level of service to our patients at their time of need.”

The BBC’s report claimed morale amount paramedics was low in the face of increased pressure, with three quarters of those surveyed saying they had considered resigning within the past 12 months.

It is estimated there is currently a national shortfall of about 3,000 paramedics and the Department of Health has pledged to invest £28 million into trusts across the country to help meet the increased demand.