A KEY Hampshire health service is facing a jobs crisis with more than 250 vacancies.

(SCAS) bosses have said they are under extreme pressure to answer calls because of a lack of 260 paramedics.

And the NHS foundation trust is relying on private companies to meet demand with the need for private ambulances almost doubling in the past year.

Mark Ainsworth-Smith, consultant emergency care practitioner for SCAS, revealed there had been a 25 per cent increase in demand on the trust since 2010, telling a recent inquest it was difficult to retain staff because of the high cost of living.

He said: “We have 260 outstanding vacancies for paramedics. To meet current demand, we need to mobilise basic ambulances. We use third party ambulance providers to cover shortfalls in ambulances and staff.”

Mr Ainsworth-Smith added that it has become a less attractive career because trainee paramedics now take longer to qualify due to a new degree course – sometimes taking between two to five years, as opposed to 16 weeks in the past.

Last year private contractors attended nine per cent of call-outs on behalf of SCAS – but this has since increased to 16 per cent.

Between April 2011 and December 2013, the average wait for an SCAS ambulance from call to arrival was around 30 minutes.

Unison South East regional organiser Sarah O’Donoghue blamed low pay and not enough internal training for the failure to replace outgoing staff.

She said: “While SCAS started training staff externally rather than internally some time ago, other competitor trusts have been investing in internal training.” She added: “There’s no robust plan to close the gap between need and provision.”

A spokesman for SCAS said: “SCAS recognises that demand is rising significantly year on year and our recruitment plans are challenged to try to meet the increasing need for more and more paramedics.”