The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Ambulance bosses slammed
Emergency: Concerns raised workers could be asked to work their holidays
Concerns have been raised by union bosses that ambulance workers could be called to work during their holidays to cover major incidents and events.
The news came as it emerged that senior management at the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) had considered asking its staff to come back from leave to help cover the Royal Highland Show at the weekend.
Unite has accused management of putting patients at risk by failing to provide “core cover”, forcing it to consider asking “over-stretched” paramedics to sacrifice their downtime.
But the service has insisted the proposals never went beyond the discussions stage and claimed staff will not be asked to work through their holidays.
However, Unite has responded senior management members are attempting to “cover up” an ongoing crisis.
Jamie McNamee said: “All workers need a break away from their workplace to recover from the demands of the job. Ambulance workers particularly are faced with emergency situations on a daily basis, witnessing things most people won’t have to see in a lifetime.
“Yet ambulance service managers think it is okay to pressurise our members to work their holidays. It’s disgraceful.
“Holiday leave is needed to recover from the pressures of a stressful and often traumatic work environment.
“Trade unions fought hard for holidays and we don’t intend to give them away because management can’t work their rotas properly. This is yet more evidence, as if we need it, of the crisis in our public services.
“We don’t believe the crisis in the Scottish Ambulance Services is being reported by management. Something needs done before lives are lost.
“If SAS management feel they need extra cover over holiday periods, they should recruit more people to do it.”
The ambulance service has said it is committed to ensuring it has a safe level of cover.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We are recruiting more staff than ever before to meet rising demand for our services.
“Additional staff are being recruited and trained, however we were expecting a high level of demand in the Lothian area at the weekend and considered various options to increase cover with staff representatives including reviewing voluntary overtime.
“A decision was taken not to make a unique exception to working practices which would have enabled staff coming off annual leave to volunteer for overtime during what was expected to be a busy 24-hour period in the Lothian area. We are committed to ensuring we have a safe and effective level of cover at all times and will continue to work with staff representatives to ensure the additional investment in staff is used to achieve this.”
“This is yet more evidence, as if we need it, of the crisis in our public services”