THE number of ambulances operating from out of Bromsgrove has doubled thanks to scores of students joining the drive to stem the tide of the coronavirus outbreak.

Until last week, West Midlands Ambulance Service ran 20 ambulances out of its hub on Barnsley Hall Drive but that has now doubled to 40.

The service’s Trust has been working with local university partners (Staffordshire, Coventry, Worcester, Wolverhampton and Birmingham City) to recruit 200 third year paramedic students. 

These are students who are just weeks away from qualifying and have spent thousands of hours on ambulances, working with staff and treating patients. 

All of them will work with fully qualified paramedics and technicians on the road. 

A further 130 Year 2 university graduate paramedics have also been taken on to work as assistants to vehicle preparation operatives – the staff who play a vital role cleaning and re-stocking our ambulances which allows our clinical staff to spend more time treating patients.

Emergency Services Operations Delivery Director, Nathan Hudson, said: “We are receiving huge support from our university students who are desperate to do their part to help the nation at this time. 

“Many are already very familiar to our staff and the response we have had from the team at Bromsgrove has been incredible with the students made to feel very welcome.

“These students would have qualified over the next few weeks as HCPC registered paramedics so are a tremendous asset for us and I have no doubt that they will help to save many lives over the coming weeks. 

“I am incredibly proud of the students and also our staff for doing the right thing to help patients.”

Elsewhere, more than 1,000 people applied to become a lifesaver in the West Midlands in just three days following the launch of the scheme.

WMAS is now fast-tracking applications for roles as call assessors in both its 999 and 111 control rooms.