When I was on the car in densely populated East London it wasn't unusual for me to wait 45 minutes or more for an ambulance - and from talking with FRU drivers it seems that it hasn't got any better. I remember spending 45 minutes in the street in the middle of the day with a stabbing as people tutted and walked past. I agree with you about CPR, but there are other occasions where a paramedic is more useful. E.g. Needle chest decompression. Penicillin for someone with meningitis. (in non-London trusts) Thrombolytics for heart attacks. Fluids for severe blood loss (which reminds me of a job where I was *seriously* considering going outside my protocols and hanging a line up on someone with an awful rectal bleed) Those are just off the top of my head, and until recently Naloxone for opioid overdoses.