This division is slightly further north than me but the Scottish ambulance service breaks in my division work as such............ We get 30 minutes between the 3rd and 5th hours of a 12 shift and then a 15 minute break between the 7th and 9th hours. We can not be disturbed at any point during these periods. If a call comes in we know nothing about it because control can not tell us. There is an option of opting out of taking these 'protected' breaks and you can be sent out if you have chosen this option.............. for an extra £250 a year......................... I'll have my breaks thanks! If a call came in that was obviously serious and genuine, I don't know any tech/paramedic who would refuse to go if control asked them............ if they do this they get the time back later........... but the fact is with these stories that we don't know they are waiting. Also the only drug a paramedic can give for an MI that is different to a technician is Morphine for pain. The patient would still have got Aspirin and GTN from the Technician, they would also have been given oxygen and entonox for pain relief. The patient was alive when they got to hospital and given the required care by the technician. They did their job and a Paramedic would have made bog all difference!! But of course these facts don't make for a sensational story