Calendar Ambulance News

Around 450 Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff are returning to work today after a 24-hour walk-out. They have raised concerns about safety following planned money saving changes to the service.

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Staff are claiming increasing pressure is being put on Yorkshire's already stretched ambulance service.

It has emerged that over Easter a toddler had to wait more than 20 minutes for a paramedic after a serious car accident - despite it happening a five-minute walk away from the nearest hospital.

3-year-old Keiran Morrill has survived but needed 60 stitches. The news comes on the day that 450 ambulance service workers across the county went on strike out in a row over future cuts to services. Kate Walby reports.

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The Yorkshire Ambulance Service is reminding people to only call 999 in an emergency when it is obvious that someone has a life-threatening or serious illness or injury while the 24-hour period of industrial action takes place.

We are committed to minimising the level of disruption to our services duringthe 24-hour strike called by Unite the Union and our contingency plans remain focused on providing a safe, responsive and high-quality emergency service to patients.

The strike action has involved less than 10 per cent of the total staff employed by the Trust and the vast majority of our staff have been working as normal, delivering safe services to patients across the region.

The Trust recognises the legal right for those of our staff who are members of Unite to participate in industrial action, but our focus is to balance that right with the need to first safeguard patient care and safety. However, I do not believe that industrial action in this form is in the best interests of patients, and it is deeply concerning for a trade union representing ambulance service workers to strike without making any concessions to patient safety.

Throughout the 24-hour period of the strike we will continue to monitor the situation closely and make every effort to get to patients as quickly as possible, whilst maintaining high standards of patient care.

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Ambulance workers are holding a one day strike today over patient safety and derecognition of Unite, the country's largest union.

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The Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has released a statement about today's strike. It aims to reassure people about contingency plans. The public are reminded, however, to only call for an ambulance in seriou or life-threatening circumstances.

"... Unite the Union has confirmed that its members will not be responding to any 999 calls during the 24-hour period. I am deeply concerned over this type of action, which I believe will be of concern to all of our A&E staff, who are very committed to patient care, and will place many of them in a very difficult situation.

“... I do not believe that industrial action in this form is in the best interests of patients, and it is deeply concerning for a trade union representing ambulance service workers to strike without making any concessions to patient safety."

“Throughout the 24-hour period of the strike, and the continuous overtime ban that Unite the Union commenced on 26 March 2013, our focus will be on taking steps to maintain operational cover to sustain effective and safe services.”This action will undoubtedly place strain on our 999 service, and therefore the Trust is reminding the public to use the service wisely for patients with serious and life-threatening conditions only during the 24-hour period of industrial action..."

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• Yorkshire
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450 Yorkshire Ambulance workers are walking out in a row over cutbacks and changes to the service. Paramedics and other ambulance staff are on strike for 24 hours.

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• Yorkshire
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Over four hundred paramedics and other ambulance staff across Yorkshire are starting a continous ban on overtime from today.

Members of the Unite union have voted in favour of the action in a row over patient safety. They're concerned about plans to introduce new emergency care assistants to work alongside regular paramedics.

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The Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire is to write to the Secretary of State to ask for East Midlands Ambulance Service’s (EMAS) “flawed” consultation to be reviewed – with the committee’s ultimate goal being a return to a dedicated ambulance service for the county.

Meanwhile, the members also quizzed the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) on its death rate figures being higher than expected and received a number of reassurances.

The decision to write to the Government was made at its meeting yesterday (March 20), after the committee expressed concerns over EMAS’ recent consultation process and its ambulance response times.

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• Lincolnshire County Council
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Yorkshire ambulance workers could strike in what they claim is a dispute over patient safety and the derecognition of Unite, the country’s largest union.

Unite is now beginning the legal process to ballot its 450 paramedics and other ambulance staff members at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust for strike action or industrial action short of a strike. The ballot result could be known by the end of the month.

“I can confirm that Unite has begun the legal process to hold an industrial action ballot over the trust’s unilateral decision to derecognise Unite.

The union is unhappy with plans to introduce emergency care assistants, or ECAs to work alongside more highly-trained paramedics. The ECA staff have only six weeks training, when a paramedic undergoes a two-year degree course.

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