A huge number of paramedics are going on strike within ambulance and emergency services in Yorkshire. They are taking part in 24 hour industrial action starting 2nd April 2013. The strike is an outcome of an on-going row over staffing changes between the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and the workers’ union, Unite.
Unite represents about 10% of the total workforce of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service. The strike went ahead after about 61% of the members who took part in a ballot held in March voted in favour of it. Around 83% of the members voted in favour of other forms of industrial action.
The staffing changes that lie at the heart of this row essentially pair inexperienced and relatively untrained workers alongside skilled paramedics while attending to emergency calls. The two roles that will be paired with trained paramedics are assistant practitioners who are qualified in basic first aid, and emergency care assistants, who may have as little as six weeks’ training.
Depending on the nature and seriousness of the 999 call, some cases may also have the two new roles paired up with each other.
Unite has continually raised concerns over the changes – stating that replacing or supplementing fully trained paramedics with lesser trained staff will compromise patient care very seriously, and that the changes which have seemingly been made purely on financial grounds will put patients at severe risk and compromise the quality of emergency services.
Assistant practitioners and emergency care assistants will not have the expertise and training to handle more serious cases – which can present themselves unexpectedly. Emergency calls cannot always be assessed over the phone, and what may seem relatively minor may not always be so.
In such a situation, having two untrained staff or only one paramedic to deal with the situation can put patients at high risk at a time when they are most in need of help.
- The Yorkshire Ambulance Service has claimed that the changes will not compromise on patient care and that the new roles will be duly qualified and trained to handle the appropriate level of care and management.
- It says that it is trying to maintain a high level of patient care, while desperately trying to make savings to the tune of £45 million in the next 5 years.
- The trust also said that there will be no changes to levels of pay within the next 5 years during which time the staffing changes will take effect.
The Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has not only failed to resolve the issue through negotiation with the union, but has de-recognised the union due to a ‘disappointing working relationship’.
In the meantime, the strike has gone ahead as planned and Unite is now taking legal advice on the trust’s action to de-recognise the union and ignore the concerns raised by its members.
Image: bbc.co.uk
