Frontline ambulance staff numbers are to be boosted in the capital thanks to additional funding.

The London Ambulance Service, which attends emergencies in the borough, will receive an extra £7.1million this year to recruit 240 members of staff to help improve levels of care to patients.

Chief executive Ann Radmore said: “This investment will help us ensure more staff are available to respond to 999 calls at a time when demand on our service continues to rise.

“The additional funding will take us a step closer to having a paramedic on every emergency vehicle.

“We will use it to recruit more A&E support staff so that we can introduce a model of care used in other ambulance services, where paramedics work alongside these staff on ambulances.”

A&E support staff, who attend lower priority calls, will receive additional training so that they can respond to a wide range of calls alongside paramedics.