In my service (before merger) we were very lucky in that we had two 1/2 hour breaks in a 12hour shift, you might not get the first till late and not hae the second but our control would always do their best.We could be interrupted unless protected etc etc. Under A4C (Agenda for Chaos) we now are only pad for 11 hours of our 12 hour shift. The other hour ae our two 1/2 hour breaks, for which we are completely uninterruptable once we get back onto our station. Its hard because you know calls are outstanding, I would love to be interrupted for a genuine case, but we can't. We are run ragged at the moment. We have to have breaks, it would be dangerous if we didnt. Patient care and public service would be damaged. Tom's point that a refreshed crew work harder is true. As for the comments that came from an insider, we have had the same in the local press here too. We love our obs and are fully committed to them, like most public service professions ut there comes a point when the safety and sanity of the staff have to be taken into consideration. Has anyone thought about what happens when we all go off sick with stress and work related illness. This can't go on otherwise there will be no-one left on the road...would like to se what the managers would do then (answer is they would pay a private company to do the work at a huge cost, and not get their suited hands dirty). I quite agree with the replies above about The Sun, unfortunately it has one of the highest levels of readers (so it has a big impact on people's vew) also I used to teach and apparently I as told on an inset day youonly need a reading age of 8 years old to be able to comprehend how the stories are reported..food for thought! Having just done one of the worst night shifts ever, and another two sure to be on their way, t would be nice to see the media, instead of attacking the NHS and mildly abusing its workers(who are already demoralised) with constant undeserved criticism why don't they have a word about the people who waste our time. Sure they often have snippets in the tiny columns, but these people who misuse our service are often the first to shout to the press. They aren't rideculed or berated by the press for their lack of common sense and duty to the rest of the public, that is saved for the NHS! Someone mentioned above about Nurse Practioners and Teaching assistants, well here's the news, it's happening. The third tier are being integrated (Those people who are given minimum training and sent to some of the sickest patients because thy meet the time criteria...and may I say do a fantastic job!) fully alongside A&E, dont get me wrong I dont have problem with First Responders who again do a brilliant job (if my dad collapses in ay VF i don't care who does CPR and presses the button as long as someone does!) Oh god this has yet again turned into a major rant..but hey I feel slightly better for it. For those of you not in the NHS, let me assure you of one thing. Ambulance staff are among the most committed hard working people you will ever meet. Thanks to people like Tom, the public can get an accurate account of what happens day in day out, not the view portrayed of a lot of moaning whinging people who sit on their backsides in the press. Please all you MPs and DoH bods, we ned more money, more crews, more equipment and then we can provide the public with the kind of service they deserve and pay for... Rant over, signing out...