Paramedics accuse ‘negligent’ bosses of risking their lives
SCOTTISH ambulance staff have accused bosses of ‘gross negligence’ over the service’s handling of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Frontline paramedics and patient transport staff were told they would receive their first dose of the vaccine in early December but faced a three-week delay following storage issues, it has emerged.
It means less than half of the country’s 5,000 ambulance staff have so far been vaccinated – with the remainder due to receive their first dose in the coming weeks.
Staff also claim they have been forced to cancel vaccination appointments and rebook on their days off – causing further delays.
Trade union GMB Scotland, which represents Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) workers, warned the lives of paramedics and other ambulance staff were being put at risk each day without the protection offered by the vaccine.
One Ayrshire paramedic, who asked not to be named, said ambulance and patient transport crews felt ‘badly let down’.
The paramedic, who is now suffering from the long-term effects of Covid-19 after catching the virus at work, said: ‘Many of us who are sent into households with confirmed Covid almost daily are yet to get the vaccine but we hear of admin staff who work behind glass screens having had it weeks ago.
‘To add insult to injury, we have now been told under no circumstances can we get the vaccine on work days – and many have had to cancel appointments or had them cancelled for them. It is outrageous. They need to get us all fully vaccinated, with both doses, as soon as possible.’
GMB Scotland Organiser Karen Leonard said: ‘SAS has informed us the service had plans in place to vaccinate staff on December 2, but this was delayed due to regulatory issues affecting the storage of the vaccines. It means that just over half of the workforce have received their first dose of the vaccination as of this week and the service is running three weeks behind the rest of the NHS in its rollout, increasing pressure on already exhausted and scared staff.
‘It has also resulted in cases of management cancelling pre-booked vaccination slots for staff, forcing them to rebook during their rest periods and not given time back for doing so, which is totally unacceptable.
‘In the grip of rising Covid infections this is gross negligence, but the problem stems from the top. It looks like the vaccine roll-out is going down the same road as PPE and testing earlier in the pandemic where Ministers prioritised rhetoric over delivery and left key workers in the lurch.’
An SAS spokesman said: ‘Vaccinating our hard-working frontline staff is a priority and is progressing at pace with over 2,000 staff already successfully vaccinated by our teams of vaccinators across Scotland in a very short timescale.
‘We’re trying to get as many staff as we can vaccinated as quickly as possible and are therefore grateful to staff for flexing their arrangements to receive the vaccine during their shift or between shifts.’