The NHS is spending more than £1 million a week hiring private ambulances

The NHS spends more than £1 million a week hiring private ambulances to attend emergency calls, according to research from a trade union.

Unison said the figures were based on responses from two-thirds of England’s ambulance trusts that pay commercial companies to provide cover for critically ill patients.

More than a dozen private companies are being tasked by ambulance trusts across England to fill ever-growing service gaps and meet response times amid overwhelming demand, the union claimed.

Trusts book private emergency vehicles and crews up to a year in advance to respond to emergencies such as traffic accidents and stroke patients, Unison said.

It warned that spending tens of millions on private 999 coverage is a “short-term solution, not a long-term solution to the crisis in ambulance services.”

Speaking ahead of the union’s annual health conference in Bournemouth, Sara Gorton, head of health at Unison, said: ‘This spending on private 999 services shows a lack of long-term planning and is a shocking waste of money.

‘It’s nothing more than a plaster solution.

Ambulance services are in a desperate state because the government has failed to invest in the long term.

“Patients wait ages for help or, worse, die before the crew can reach them.”

She added: “Others are trapped for hours in emergency vehicles outside hospitals waiting for a bed.

“This is a crisis created by the government itself and can only be resolved with a long-term plan.

“Ministers need to join forces and come up with the right funding to tackle the increasing demand and pay the staff well.”