Ambulance service cuts will hurt – union

A proposal by St John Ambulance to reduce staff numbers will be an immense loss for both the community who use the service and the workers affected says FIRST Union, the union for Ambulance Professionals.

Last week St John Ambulance announced a proposal to reduce their workforce by 33 full time roles.

“If anything we need more ambulance professionals on the road” said Neil Chapman, FIRST Union ambulance organiser.

While the affected roles are largely in management and support areas, the wealth of clinical skill and knowledge the bring often provide much needed relief elsewhere in the service.

“Currently, outside of our main centres, we’re struggling with the unsafe practice of single crewing ambulances,” said Chapman.

“No one should be losing a job at St John, if anything we need more crews in the emergency front line service”.

In 2015 St John told the Government that single crewing is an unsafe work practice, however the latest announcement will leave even less people working in the service. FIRST Union is urging St John Ambulance to redeploy these people into double crewed ambulances, making the job safer for everyone and improving the service in the process.

ENDS

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