AS the East of England Ambulance Service says it is determined to improve following months of criticism and begins a major recruitment drive for student paramedics, I joined one crew for an eventful 12- hour shift.

With people complaining about ambulance waiting times and tales of delays in A&E, it’s fair to say the service has some harsh critics.

Last month AnthonyMarsh, chief executive of the service, said crews are unable to respond to calls on time because they are waiting at hospitals to hand over patients. He said the delays are reaching “intolerable levels”

and are outside the service’s control.

As the service hits back over delays and response times, I jumped at the chance to join a crew one Saturday to see exactly what life is like in the day of a paramedic.

5.45am: I join Jess Kyle, 29, on her first day as a fully qualified paramedic and Paul Warwick, 51, at Southend Ambulance Station. The pair, who have worked together for three years, check the vehicles, the lights, replace items and make sure they have everything they need for the day from the defibrillator to drugs.

6am: The crew’s radio goes and we are called to a 26-yearold woman on Canvey who is complaining of severe abdominal pain and bleeding. We get there with our blue lights flashing and the crew take over from the rapid response car which was sent ahead.

The crews check on the patient, carry out observations and decide she needs to be taken to hospital.

We get her into the ambulance and are soon on our way to Southend Hospital. Paul drives while Jess takes care of the patient. She gives the woman morphine for the pain, holds her hand, fills out paperwork and manages to get her a sick bowl in the nick of time.

It’s impressive stuff, and as we hand over to Southend Hospital I’m reminded just how slickly the NHS can work.

7.30am: We are barely back in the ambulance when another call comes in. A man in Westcliff is having trouble with his tracheotomy. We attend and the crew decide he needs to see his specialist in his own home. Despite not taking the patient to hospital, we are still held up in Westcliff for half an hour filling out patient details, liaising with staff at the centre and speaking to the patient, who says he doesn’t want to go to hospital.

8.30am: We are called to our first fall of the day. One in five of the service’s calls are related to falls and this one sees an elderly gentlemen in need of help at his home in Benfleet.

He fell walking from the bathroom and was found by his carer first thing. Confined by a narrow doorway and in a sticky position at the top of the stairs, Jess and Paul work seamlessly together to lift the man using an inflatable chair.

Once the pair are satisfied the man can walk again, more paperwork must be filled out and they refer him to the falls team at social services. By the time the handover is complete it’s nearly 10am.

10.50am: Another man has fallen. This time out of his chair at a home on Canvey.

Again the crews work to get him up and make him comfortable as he and his family decide they don’t want him to go to hospital.

Midday: The crews get 30 minutes halfway through their shift for lunch, but can be called out to anything if necessary.

Paul has been a paramedic for 12 years. After seeing a girl run over in the street he marvelled at how the ambulance crews were able to help. He gave up his job as an engineer and signed up to the service.

He tells me the people he meets can have a lasting impact on him, but he no longer takes the job home.

Paul said: “I remember one man whose wife came home and found him in difficulty. She called 999. I was two minutes away and we got in there and did CPR and brought him back to life and sent him to hospital in the air ambulance.

“Since then we, the phone operator, the air ambulance crews and him have all met up.

He is the nicest and humblest man I’ve ever met. He was so grateful and it’s what makes the job worthwhile.

“I love my job. If we can make someone feel better and get them to hospital or do CPR on someone having a cardiac arrest, that’s what we are meant to do.”

1.30pm: We are called to an accident in Hockley before being diverted to Maldon, Rochford and eventually Burnham. As the calls come in quick and fast, the operators make sure each ambulance is dispatched to its nearest location and prioritise the calls.

Crews can often start the day in Southend but if they transfer patients to Broomfield Hospital, in Chelmsford, can easily find themselves in Suffolk before the day is over.

This time we’re called to a man who has fallen and had a seizure in his home.

Volunteer first responders are already on the scene and between them and the paramedics they manage to lift the man. He is moved by wheelchair and we take him to Broomfield Hospital.

Now Jess is in the driving seat and Paul is in the back. He carries out observations and monitors the patient as we make the long drive to Chelmsford.

We are made to wait until a bed becomes available in A&E.

At one point there are five crews waiting with patients. We transfer the patient before making our way back to Southend.

5.15pm: The crew have been on duty for nearly 12 hours and are called to a woman who has had a seizure in a supermarket in Southend.

The familiar sound of sirens fills the ambulance and we make our way there. This is a first for the day – having to deal with nosy members of the public gawping at a patient.

I find it infuriating but Jess and Paul are perfectly calm. As Paul deals with the patient Jess and me go to get the stretcher and she politely asks people to move on.

6pm: We finish and Jess has completed her first day as a fully qualified paramedic. She worked on the children’s ward at Southend for five years before completing her training.

So what makes the job worthwhile?

Jess says it is the people she works with and the people she meets.

Having been up since 4am, I’m exhausted and cannot wait to climb into bed. By the time I wake up on Sunday, the crews have already been at work for three hours and still have another nine hours to go. The crews, who work for four days and then get three days off, work harder than I ever realised.

The service is vital and the paramedics are calm, highly qualified lifesavers, yet they seem to spend a large amount of time dealing with fairly minor illnesses.

The pace is relentless. Even with no huge incidents, there is a constant and steady demand for the ambulance service.

Whether it’s a massive car crash or an elderly person in need, the paramedics are ready to help.

  • The service receives around 2,400 calls every day It’s thought that around one in every five calls they get are from people who have fallen Around a fifth of calls are lifethreatening incidents.
  • In 2014 the service received more than 7,000 calls to road accidents in Essex
  • There are 320 paramedics in Essex and 276 emergency care practitioners and technicians Essex will have 80 student paramedics working on the frontline by the end of next month following a major recruitment drive
  • A massive vehicle replacement programme which began in early 2014 will see 267 emergency ambulances replaced across six counties – including 27 additional ambulances.
  • By the end of next month there will be no ambulances over five years old.