Ambulance staff at end of tether over conditions

AMBULANCE workers in the West Highlands are ‘ very likely’ to vote for further action when a ballot of members is counted tomorrow (Friday), a union boss has said.

Staff will decide on action over concerns about the lack of ambulances for immediate response to 999 calls because of inter-hospital transfers alongside other issues.

At present Oban has 20 staff members working with two ambulance vehicles operating 24/ 7. Mull has five staff, with one ambulance vehicle operating 24/ 7.

Oban and Mull workers say there are not enough ambulances to meet the demands of emergencies in the area – particularly in rural areas.

One staff member said: ‘It is almost a nightly taxi to Glasgow or Paisley at the moment. We want the very best for every patient and if we are taking a less urgent patient to the city it leaves the town and rural areas short in an emergency.’

Members of the Unite union were asked to agree with the statement: ‘I have lost confidence in the divisional management as they have not seriously addressed the issues my Union have raised. Therefore I agree we should now register a formal dispute and collectively pursue the issues through the Dispute Resolution Procedure.’

Scotland Unite union’s regional officer Tommy Campbell said Scottish Ambulance staff were at ‘the end of their tether’ and wanted bosses of the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to take notice of concerns about their working practice, including serious health and safety concerns. Speaking exclusively to The

Oban Times, Mr Campbell said: ‘These are very conscientious hard-working staff who are at the end of their tether. The current state of play is heartbreaking for staff and a source of frustration and anger.

‘They went into the service to help people and communities, and they just want to get the resources to do it.

‘ We anticipate a mandate for a ballot to move our concerns to a formal dispute.

‘The staff and the union are sick of the utter spin that the senior management keep putting out.

‘We need to cut through to what is really happening. Problems need to be highlighted so that our MSPs, MPs and the Scottish Government can see the real picture of what is going on and not the line they are being fed by managers.’

Mr Campbell continued: ‘We have been consistently raising their concerns about the pressures staff are all facing because of the reduced resources they are working with. The issues we have raised are over-running of shift time, on- call fatigue, in some areas accident and emergency services being propped up by visiting rural crews thus leaving rural areas uncovered and the absence of proper rest breaks.

‘In spite of the representations Unite have made to senior divisional management, including the SAS chief executive Pauline Howie, and MSPs, coupled with Unite going public via the media, there is a lack of any serious response from the senior divisional management.

‘There is lack of meaningful and transparent partnership working with Unite reps and a lack of partnership working in the investigations in health and safety matters.

‘We also believe that the HR team does not take front line staff concerns seriously. This leaves us without any trust or confidence in their ability to seriously address and resolve these concerns.’

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of the letter to Unite members in our north division.

‘ With regards to the concerns over the provision of the ambulance service, we are continuing to work with staff-side colleagues to address the issues raised.

‘This includes working closely with local health boards to help manage hospital transfers.

‘Over the past year we have also invested significantly in our workforce in the area, with the introduction of 52 staff, which is an eight per cent increase.’

We are sick of the spin ” Tommy Campbell Unite regional officer