The Northern Echo revealed last February (2024) how more than £15.4m was paid to private ambulance providers in the previous year, with costs spiralling from just £1.3m six years ago.
New figures obtained by this newspaper show that figure has gone up again in the 12 months to March 2024, to more than £18.15m.
It comes despite North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) bosses saying a year ago that use of private ambulances was expected to reduce, and represents a 17.3% cost increase.
Meanwhile, the number of incidents attended by private providers remained roughly the same, with taxpayers getting worse value for money year on year.
Six years ago it cost the NEAS, and taxpayers, £52 on average to get a private firm to attend an incident, but that has gone up sixfold to almost £320 today.
NEAS is one of 11 ambulance trusts in the UK and receives direct government funding.
Stephen Segasby, the trust’s COO, said: “Private ambulance services offer additional support to protect our service for patients during surges in demand.
“Over the last year our spend on private ambulance services has increased for a number of reasons. We have received further investment to enhance our service to patients and improve our performance – so we are spending more than the previous year. The costs of using such services has risen due to inflation and other changes. Using such services has also enabled us to increase resources out on the road whilst we continue to recruit and train new staff permanently.
“We have simultaneously invested in our permanent internal workforce and service with additional vehicles, clinicians, and equipment.
“Investment in our internal workforce and additional vehicles also requires additional infrastructure, such as more station capacity. Our long-term investment plan is to expand our estate, however, in the interim, we have a duty of care to improve our service with this boost in resources on the road.
“Over time we expect to be able to reduce the need to use private ambulances with a more permanent establishment.”
Those taking a share of the £18m of taxpayer cash NEAS paid out include businesses that recorded profits in their most recent accounts.
Ambulnz Community Partners made more than £1m profit in the last two years according to its company accounts. The firm’s director Norman Rosenberg is registered as living in New York on Companies House, just a block away from the Empire State Building. Stockton-based Cipher Medical, which recorded profits of almost £2.4m in the 2023 financial year, also benefited from public money.
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Charities including the British Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance also attended patients on NEAS’ behalf.
Last year then-Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Echo the figures represent poor value for money for taxpayers, saying: “We’re paying more but getting less”.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This government inherited a broken NHS and it is unacceptable that vital services, including ambulances, are not being adequately funded.
“We will get maximum value for taxpayers’ money and through our 10 Year Health Plan reforms, we will make sure every penny of extra investment is well spent.”