Use of the military ‘is putting patients and the public at risk’

STAFF working in the Welsh Ambulance Service have warned that the use of the military in emergency situations is putting patients and the public at risk.

The Ministry of Defence announced in October that 110 members of the Armed Forces would be deployed to work for the NHS trust to help with Covid pressures until the end of November.

But the GMB union said they not only provide “very little assistance”, but put more pressure on the trained medics who are being “split” so the military can plug gaps in the service.

When its members raised concerns, the GMB claims Welsh Ambulance Service management threatened them with redundancies and de-registration.

Nathan Holman, GMB regional organiser, said: “We do not object to the military assisting in low acuity, non-emergency calls, but we cannot turn a blind eye to unqualified personnel assisting in emergency situations.

“You wouldn’t bring a postman in to work with a GP or a midwife, so why would you accept an unqualified individual working alongside a paramedic?”

Jason Killens, chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, told BBC Wales: “We understand some colleagues are concerned about the appropriateness of military support.

“But given high levels of absence, greater demand than ever before and extended delays at hospitals, the Welsh Ambulance Service has taken a decision that it is not prepared to stand by and see a significant number of patients experience distressingly long waits in the community because of a lack of available resources.”