One paramedic graduate said he was ‘gutted’ to be jobless despite the Welsh Ambulance Service requesting the numbers trained and Welsh Government funding for that
Only 20 of the 67 paramedic graduates in Wales, funded in part by the Welsh Government, have been offered jobs by the Welsh Ambulance Service, despite it requesting the numbers trained. One of the paramedic degree graduates left jobless after four years study in Wales, despite the Welsh Government paying for training requested by the Welsh Ambulance Service, says he is “gutted”. A major change to the way 999 calls are handled was announced earlier this year.
The graduate, who did not want to be identified, said family commitments means he cannot take his skills to England as some of his peers also left without jobs now are. The WAS (Welsh Ambulance Service) confirmed it had not been able to give all candidates successful at interview a job, but said it is working to resolve that. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here
Health Minister Jeremy Miles has written to Jane Dodds MS, Liberal Democrat leader in Wales, who raised the matter, saying: “I recognise the distress this situation is causing graduates who expect to transition smoothly into employment.”
Of the 67 paramedic graduates in Wales this year, only 20 will be hired by the WAS.
This is despite the service requesting 87 paramedics to be trained and paid for through Welsh Government funding. The figures were confirmed in the letter from Mr Miles.
The minister added that the Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), the statutory education body for the NHS in Wales, has confirmed that 67 students are due to graduate this academic year – 61 from Swansea University and six from Wrexham University. WAS has 20 roles available.
“It (WAS) has said there are range factors contributing to the gap between vacancies and graduates, including clinical skill mix adjustment, resource constraints, reduced turnover of existing paramedics and the regrading of roles within the service,” Mr Miles adds in his letter.
And he goes on to say that in response to the shortfall in available paramedic posts for Welsh graduates this year, HEIW is exploring alternative employment opportunities within the NHS, including roles in emergency care, emergency department, and primary care settings.
The figures were initially unearthed by Swansea Liberal Democrat councillor and Senedd candidate for Gŵyr Abertawe (Swansea & Gower) Sam Bennett, before being confirmed in the correspondence between Ms Dodds MS and Mr Miles.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling on the Welsh Labour Government to “urgently intervene” and create more posts so as to prevent the time and money spent training much-needed qualified Paramedics from being wasted.
One who did not get a job, said: “I have worked for four years on access courses and this degree to get to graduation. I understood that places weren’t guaranteed but you do expect if the Welsh Government has requested a certain amount of people to be trained there would be jobs for them.
“To then find there were limited jobs has been gutting. Unlike others who will likely take their skills to England, I have a family, and cannot go anywhere else to work or retrain.”
Carl Kneeshaw, WAS “director of people”, said: “As a result of changes to skill mix, changes in working patterns and the financial landscape within the NHS, we unfortunately initially found ourselves in the challenging position of not being able to offer newly qualified paramedic roles to a number of recent graduates from Welsh universities.
“However, we have worked in collaboration with colleagues from health education and Improvement Wales and partner organisations across NHS Wales to find solutions, and we are really pleased to say that we will be able to offer roles in the near future to those graduates who were successful at interview.”
The Welsh Government said it was committed to ensuring its investment in NHS education and training was supported by “meaningful employment opportunity” and other roles are being sought for paramedic graduates in Wales.
A spokesperson said: “This includes exploring alternative employment within the NHS, including roles in emergency care, accident and emergency, and primary care settings, for the students affected.
“We are working closely with the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust (WAS), HEIW and universities to address these challenges and support graduates.”
The row comes amid worrying performance in the ambulance service. According to the latest data, 51% of red calls, the most life-threatening incidents, are not being met within the Welsh Government’s target times.
Meanwhile, 33% of amber calls, which include conditions like heart attacks and strokes, are taking longer than an hour to respond to.
Responding to the response times and the failure to give all those trained jobs Sam Bennett said: “With record response times across Wales, the Welsh Government have an opportunity here to get more trained Paramedics responding to incidents.
“We cannot afford to lose these highly skilled professionals, especially not at a time when the NHS is under this much pressure.”
“It is shocking, despite funding 87 paramedic students to be trained, that less than half will be recruited. At a time when Paramedics are desperately needed to help improve ambulance response times, that so few are to be hired is a scandal.”
“The Welsh Government should now step in and ensure that these trained and qualified Paramedics are hired to relieve the strain on the Welsh Ambulance Service.”
Jane Dodds added: “The NHS is our top Priority as Welsh Liberal Democrats. Having already paid for the training, it is a no-brainer that the Welsh Government should seize this opportunity to give Paramedics more support and resources across Wales.
“It is vital that the Welsh Government act with urgency before these Paramedics are lost to NHS Wales.”
