Action over shift patterns

Unite members at the Yorkshire Service Ambulance Trust took strike action earlier this month over changes to their working conditions. And further action is planned.

Management plans could mean that paramedics may have to work 10-hour shifts without a meal break, as well as being forced to work 12-hour shifts.

Ambulance staff took the strike action following concerns about working conditions as the ambulance trust plans to make cuts of £46 million over a five-year period.

Unite have said that it wants a protected meal break of 30 minutes after six hours.

Regional organiser Terry Cunliffe said members were “very concerned” about the scale of these changes and how they will impact on patient safety in Yorkshire. “The shift patterns are not family friendly and will lead to an overtired workforce,” he added.

Unite is concerned at the continuing and increasing use of private ambulance firms to “plug the gaps” in NHS 999 responses, which were noticeable over the Christmas and New Year period.

www.unitetheunion.org/news/unite-calls-for-independent-inquiry-as-yorkshire-ambulance-staff-prepare-to-strike-twice