Frontline paramedics and emergency care assistants (ECAs) have alleged that they are owed thousands of pounds after going unpaid for months.
Following the collapse of Role 1, which entered into liquidation with debts nearing £1.5 million, Plymouth Plus has been inundated with messages from contractors working for Alliance Pioneer Group (APG).
APG is the only remaining private ambulance provider in the Plymouth area, supplying frontline emergency ambulance cover to the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT).
SWASFT confirmed to Plymouth Plus that APG provides these services to them under a zero-hours contract.
Contractors for APG have alleged that payments stretching back several months remain outstanding and that they are owed thousands of pounds.
Plymouth Plus has also seen a WhatsApp message sent by an APG director to contractors in which the company apologised for delays in settling invoices and admitted it is facing a cash flow problem. The message said:
"With the reduction in SWAST numbers over the past few months we have had less money coming in and that’s now depleted the reserve pot of money we always have for the invoice runs and we are now in a position where we have to wait for money to come in before we can pay out."
The director added: "I’m really sorry, but there is nothing I can do to make this cashflow situation any better."
SWASFT has confirmed to Plymouth Plus that it has been paying APG on time - but despite this, contractors who carried out frontline emergency ambulance work allege they have still not received the money owed to them.
The trust said it had carried out an analysis of payments made to APG since April 2026 and found its average payment time was just 19.3 days, adding:
"We have two outstanding invoices, dated 29 July and 8 August, so within the 30-day payment period."
Asked whether it was satisfied APG remained financially capable of providing the services it had been contracted to deliver, SWASFT said:
"APG has a zero-hours contract with us. We continue to work with them, alongside all our providers."
APG said the company was going through “a period of financial restructuring following a significant reduction in work volume” and said self-employed subcontractors had been kept informed throughout the process.
When asked why contractors had not been paid despite SWASFT confirming it had paid APG within its normal payment terms, APG said it "did not recognise this claim."
The company also rejected allegations from its own contractors that it was facing a financial crisis, saying:
"The question appears to be based on unsubstantiated characterisation rather than any established fact.
"APG is continuing to deliver its contract to the ambulance service."
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