Paramedics say they are being forced to pay for their own welfare vans - at a cost of £6,000-a-month - through their union. The welfare vans provide hot drinks and snacks as ambulance service staff queue for hours outside of crammed hospitals.
Lines of ambulances will be waiting at the doors of A&E to drop off patients. But paramedics are unable to leave for hours as they watch over patients while hospital staff frantically rush to meet ever-increasing demand on emergency departments.
Beds inside hospitals are also in short supply leaving nowhere to put patients coming in via ambulance - another reason why paramedics cannot be released to go to their next emergency call. North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) staff are going ‘hours’ without food and drinks as they remain at their posts amid the chaos, claim union leaders.
