One in 17 emergency ambulance calls in west London is not answered by a paramedic, according to figures released under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

In 2014/15, there were 15,052 cases where a team with no paramedic attended a Category A call, the most serious blue-light calls, making up 5.8% of all category A calls received.

This means, on average every hour, there are two ambulance call-outs to serious incidents where no paramedic is present, only trained emergency care assistants.

However, this is a drop from 27,377, or one in 10 calls, in 2013/14, and 41,558, or one in seven calls, in 2012/13, according to the FOI data.

Usually emergency care assistants will work as part of a team with a qualified paramedic, or sometimes as a first responder, and assist with moving and monitoring patients, driving and helping paramedics.

Emergency care assistants take a six to nine-week in-service training course to learn moving and handling techniques, first aid, basic patient skills and safe driving techniques.

Non-paramedic teams are likely to be made up of emergency care assistants but additional units may be sent to an incident, including paramedics, where needed.

A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said: "It should also be noted that there is no contractual or national standard that requires a paramedic to attend a specific level or certain type of incident as there is no necessity for a paramedic to attend every incident."