The region’s ambulance angels have been praised for a first class service and given an A* in its latest patient survey.

The news comes as the ambulance service encourages people to use #ThankYouThursday on social media to share thank you messages from patients and their families.

Sandy Brown, director of nursing and clinical quality for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), said: “We know how hard our staff and volunteers work every day to make positive contributions to excellent patient care.

“When you read heartfelt messages from those who have felt that impact, you can’t help but stop and think about the difference our teams make in helping people in their hour of need.”

One patient said: “Your ambulance and paramedic staff are angels. I couldn’t have wanted anyone else to look after me the way they did.”

Almost 100 people responded to the July survey - and all of them said they were satisfied with the service.

The results show that 98 per cent of respondents rated the handling of their 999 call as very acceptable or acceptable.

More than 91 per cent said the length of time they waited for a response was very acceptable or acceptable.

Sandy added: “These are another set of excellent of patient survey results and echo the recent outstanding care rating we received from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

“We value all feedback from our patients and these fantastic comments are a testament to the hard work and dedication of all of our staff.”