The company was formed on 1 July 2006, when three ambulance companies came together. These companies were the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance and Paramedic Service NHS Trust, the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust, and the Essex Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The result was an ambulance service covering an area of over with a population of 5.8 million people, and one which answers over 500,000 emergency calls every year.