I work for a different trust. Just to further illustrate this point, here was my day today: 5:45 am Woke, shower, dress. Slice of toast. 6:30 am Arrive on station for 7am shift. Cup of tea 6:45 am Book on for 7am shift. Inform control we are commencing our vehicle check 6:47 am Job comes in, for 67yof with breathing difficulties. We leave immediately informing control we have not completed our vehicle check. After this we bounced from job to job. At the end of each one we informed control we had not yet fully checked our vehicle and each time they confirmed they had noted it but there was no one else available. Our meal break window was from 11:30 to 15:30 and we were informed on 3 occasions after greening up from jobs at the hospital to return to base for our meal break (and our vehicle check), but never actually got there. Control were very apologetic, but these were red calls and needed a crew. "No" is not an option in our trust, whether you've had your break or not. At 16:15 we arrived at hospital with a patient having had neither food or drunk for 10 hours and had been on shift, without a break for over 9. Having handed over the patient, settled the relatives and completed my paperwork I sprinted to the hospital shop to get a nutrigrain bar whilst my crewmate returned the trolley to the vehicle and tidied up. We greened up just within the 20 minute slot we are permitted to be at hospital for and were immediately dispatched to our next job. We remained busy and off station until 18:30 when we finally landed back on station for what was now a protected meal break. There was another crew on station so we were really in with a chance of pulling it off ..............until of course at 18:34 an RTC interrupted our reverie and sent both crews off station. A 'protected' meal break is not protected from a red call. We arrived on scene at 18:50 and left with our patient long boarded at 19:08. Here's the best bit. Now they've downgraded the hospital which is just 7 minutes from the scene of this particular accident, we have a 35 minute drive to the receiving hospital........in the wrong direction. We arrived at the hospital at 19:40 (a good run) and had to remain to assist A&E staff whilst the patient was assessed because they were spinal, and finally cleared the hospital at 20:15. We got back on station at 21:00hrs, cleaned and restocked the vehicle, locked away the drugs and left. I am now home, having completed a 14 hour shift, lifting, carrying, supporting, reassuring and treating patients on 1 nutrigrain bar and a cup of tea, hungry, but far far too tired to eat. I'm due on again for a 12 hour shift in 8 and a half hours. Granted this isn't a typical day, but it's by no means a rarity either. Oh, and in case you're wondering, we never got to complete our vehicle check. As luck would have it we had everything we needed. G'night!