The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) is under fire after announcing a sharp reduction in its use of private ambulance providers, a move that has prompted union warnings of increased risk to patient safety across the region.
The changes, part of EEAST’s 2025/26 planning strategy, will see 21 ambulances withdrawn from service and 41 staff made redundant. The cuts primarily impact private provider Medicare EMS, which has been delivering pre-hospital care across Suffolk, Norfolk, and Essex.
Trade union GMB, which represents affected workers, has criticised the Trust’s decision, calling it “a blatant disregard for patient safety.” Donna Thomas, GMB Regional Organiser, voiced concerns about the loss of experienced frontline staff. “The specially-trained ambulance staff should have been offered the opportunity to transfer elsewhere in the trust,” she said.
The timing of the cuts follows regulatory pressure from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which recently issued a notice to EEAST for failing to meet response targets for category 2 emergencies — including strokes, chest pains, and suspected sepsis. Current NHS standards require 90% of these cases to be responded to within 40 minutes, with an average of 18 minutes.
An EEAST spokesperson confirmed the Trust had been in contact with Medicare and said: “We have been in contact with Medicare and its recognised union, GMB, to provide information about how their staff may wish to join EEAST as NHS employees in the future.”
However, the union disputes this claim. “EEAST has not contacted us regarding the possibility of staff transfer,” a GMB spokesperson said. “Had they done so, these paramedics could have continued providing vital care to thousands of patients.”
With the region already under pressure from broken-down ambulances and staffing gaps, the latest development has intensified scrutiny on the Trust’s long-term plans — and whether they will protect those most in need of emergency care.
