Indeed, that about sums it up. Are people really so disconnected from reality that they can't see that it's important to have a) ambulance crews who are fed and rested (ie capable of doing a good job) and b) enough crews to cover so that when a) happens the whole system doesn't fall over. I get the sense that most crews are the kind of people would interrupt their breaks gladly at need when things are going pear shaped. On the other hand if they are being asked to cut short their breaks often and just due to a system which relies on their generosity because there simply aren't enough crews employed I can imagine them reaching a point when they say "enough is enough". It's a shame the story isn't ever reported as "crews refuse to interrupt breaks in a desperate effort to bully management/government into providing proper service" Not a snappy headline I admit - but then snappy isn't everything. If I need an ambulance crew to save my life I'd like them to be able to get on with the job without being tired and hungry. I also seems reasonable for ambulance crews to have the option to look after their own health by living on more than burgers, coke and chocolate whilst on 12 hour shifts! The media as a whole seem to have lost the sense of reporting as "making sense of the world" and largely just pander to sensation. I for one am about sick of it!