Ambulance Service experiencing problems recruiting paramedics in Doncaster and across the region

Stephen Segasby, deputy director of operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS), said they were in the process of trying to upskill current staff before adding they ideally need an extra 192 paramedics across the county.

Councillors also heard Doncaster now has more ambulances on shift during the day - three more to 16 than the previous year.

Coun George Derx, a former combat medic in the British Army, asked if YAS recruited ex-service men and women into the service after they leave the forces.

Mr Segasby said: “We don’t really struggle to recruit but the challenge we’ve got is if people want to come and work for us at Yorkshire Ambulance Service who are from Doncaster for example or anywhere else, they have to have a degree.

“We’re then relying on the output from universities and if they haven’t got the numbers of courses available then that leaves us with a bit of a problem.

“But we are developing a process now where we can take our own staff and upskill them through our own process.

“We feel we’re in a positive place - to get our skill mix and base exactly where we want it we basically need about another 192 paramedics - so that gives you an idea from the total staff of about 2,500 so we do have our challenges.”