'Russian roulette' over patient safety - This is Hull and East Riding

A UNION accusing ambulance chiefs of playing "Russian roulette" with patient safety is touring the region to speak to the public.

Unite the Union has been at loggerheads with Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust since budget cuts were announced and the organisation stopped recognising the union earlier this year.

Since then, Acas (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service) talks have been held between the two, but Unite says these talks have broken down.

Angered union members are now organising a number of public meetings around Yorkshire, to widen their campaign against the ambulance service.

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Unite regional officer Terry Cunliffe said: "After three meetings under the auspices of Acas, it became clear the management had no intention of negotiating in good faith.

"So we are holding a series of roadshows to explain to the Yorkshire public what is at stake here.

"We believe the trust, in its bid to slash its budget by £46m in the next five years, is playing Russian roulette with patient safety – and that's not acceptable.

"Unite's door is open for meaningful talks – but stepped up industrial action remains firmly on the cards."

Unite, which has 500 members working for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, says the trust is saving money by getting rid of frontline skilled staff.

Members say emergency care assistants (ECAs) – a new role introduced by the service this year – are only being given six weeks training, compared to a paramedic's two year degree.

It says having ECAs working on ambulances is putting patient safety at risk, at a time when workloads are increasing by as much as six per cent.

A spokesman for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: "We continue to liaise with Acas to try to continue discussions with Unite the Union.

"We would like to reassure the public we are committed to providing responsive and high-quality care to people in Yorkshire and patient care and safety remains our highest priority."

The spokesman also said, over the next five years, the trust will be increasing the number of paramedics it employs.

They added: "Our plans allow us to build on our current clinical support worker arrangements with emergency care assistants working alongside paramedics on ambulances.

"This role has been used successfully for a number of years, in other ambulance services, to deliver an appropriate level of clinical support of their paramedic colleagues."

Unite is currently organising a number of public meetings in major towns and cities in Yorkshire in the coming weeks.

The exact itinerary is still being worked out, but details should be released shortly.

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