Meal break row leads to apology
THE chief executive of the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has apologised to staff for how bosses handled the announcement of changes to paramedics’ meal breaks.
Discussions with “all options on the table” are now ongoing with staff and the unions GMB and UNISON.
Helen Ray, who leads NEAS, told The Chronicle that a “taskforce” was being set up to this week to working with staff to address concerns about the changes – which would see ambulance crews asked to take lunch breaks at their nearest hospital or ambulance station rather than returning to base.
It was announced last Thursday that the new plans, aimed at improving ambulance service response times, would come into force for three months from January 4.
But this led to a backlash from paramedics – with numerous staff coming forward to question the proposals. Some said staff well-being was being “ignored” and told how some frontline NHS workers felt they were being blamed for delays, while others have spoken of being abused by members of the public since the announcement – even being called “lazy”.
And on Friday, the union Unison confirmed it was “in dispute” with NEAS over the issue.
NEAS had originally explained the changes as being aimed at reducing “the risk to patients amid sustained significant pressures being felt across the NHS “.
Ms Ray said: “To put this in context, it’s always going to be incredibly difficult, when we are operating in such extreme circumstances, to balance how we respond to patient safety concerns and look after staff welfare.
“That first press statement last week has resulted in our staff ending up in a very poor position which they do not deserve.”
Ms Ray said she had been “dismayed” by the insults crews had received, adding: “Our media coverage should not have...blamed them in any way for delays that are out of their control.
“I am very sorry that this has been the case. I have apologised to our staff.”
“We haven’t handled this as well as we should have done.
“Our staff have had abuse from the public that they didn’t deserve.
“They deserve to be somewhere that’s comfortable for them to take their downtime – and I’m obviously concerned that what we have done in the way we handled going out to the press is give a route in for that abuse and that’s not acceptable.”