SUFFOLK: Frontline staff working for the East of England Ambulance Service have today been praised by MPs for their hard work, dedication and commitment to saving lives.

Dr Dan Poulter, North Ipswich and Central Suffolk MP said after spending part of the summer working in A&E at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, he has first hand experience of the “fantastic” work carried out by paramedics in the county.

But he said they are being “let down” by the trust’s management team.

Dr Poulter said while he has grave concerns about the state of the ambulance trust, he has no reservations about the first class work carried out on the front line.

“We have a lot of hard working, dedicated and very skilled paramedics working in Suffolk,” he told The Evening Star. “We should be proud of the work they do, saving lives alongside other members of the emergency services.

“Personally as a doctor and an MP I think the front line staff show great dedication, skill and do a fantastic job and should be praised for that.”

He added: “The management have been shown to be consistently failing over the months and years, this is not a one off event, it is something which has happened before.”

Fellow MP Ben Gummer said his constituents in Ipswich can be sure he will be giving the issue his full attention, vowing to “get answers and more importantly solutions”.

He said: “I am deeply concerned that the poor performance and tragedies revealed years ago and the legacy that has left with some families might be repeated.

“I am meeting my parliamentary colleagues tonight and tomorrow to discuss what to do.”