THE West Midlands Ambulance Service has been praised for its paramedic and apprenticeship programmes.

Sir Keith Pearson, chairmain of Health Edication England, and Jenni Ord, chairman of the West Midlands branch, met with the ambulance service's chief executive, Anthony Marsh, at its headquarters on Wednesday, March 12 for presentations on its current work.

During the visit, the pair were told about the ambulance trust's education and skills programmes for paramedics which were leading to better patient care and less patients needing to go to hospital like they might have done five years ago.

Mr Marsh said the progression the service was undertaking would help them continue to provide high quality services.

“The visit provided the opportunity to demonstrate how we are strengthening our workforce, particularly with paramedic progression through recruitment as well as providing existing staff development opportunities," he said.

"We are getting ever closer to our aim of having a paramedic on every vehicle which will undoubtedly improve patient care.”

During the visit, Sir Pearson said how impressed he was with what was going on within the organisation, as well as the contribution that the trust has made to the improvements in ambulance services across the country.

“I am particularly interested and impressed by the model that you use to ensure that you get the right workforce in the right numbers with the right skills, and particularly the right behaviours. The passion and commitment that I saw and the sheer enthusiasm came across in the presentations," he said.