Minister must intervene to avert impending ambulance service strike
Minister must intervene to avert impending ambulance service strike - The Labour Party
- Sherlock to host SIPTU and Unite ambulance service workers today prior to their impending strike action which commences next Tuesday, 12th of May and work-to-rule from Monday, 11th of May.
- Minister must now intervene to avert impending strike action, ensure continuity of services, and implement the recommendations of the independent ‘roles and responsibilities review’ which was published in 2020.
- Minister must urgently address staffing issues which are contributing to stress and pressure on ambulance service personnel and leading to longer response times.
- The National Ambulance Service (NAS) is critically understaffed — 1,860 paramedics short of the 2022 workforce plan targets (including new 2026 service developments) — with major regional gaps and no agreed workforce framework in place.
Labour Party Health Spokesperson Marie Sherlock TD has called on the Minister for Health to urgently intervene to avert impending strike action by SIPTU and Unite national ambulance services workers.
Deputy Sherlock was speaking in advance of hosting Unite and SIPTU representatives and shop stewards in Leinster House to discuss the impending action.
Deputy Sherlock said:
“It is imperative that the Minister steps in now to prevent strike action by national ambulance service Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Paramedics, Advanced Paramedics, Specialist Paramedics and Paramedic Supervisors. The Minister and her Department must engage with Union’s now to ensure a continuity of service across the country and implement recommendations of the independent roles and responsibilities report.
“Our national ambulance service is creaking at the seams because of understaffing and under-capacity.
“We know through figures provided to my own office that this is leading to a situation where almost 40% of ambulances missed response times when responding to life-threatening cardiac or respiratory arrest calls. But it is also placing significant strain on ambulance service crews who are providing increasingly complex care – and that is why frustrated ambulance service personnel have balloted for strike action.
“The Independent Review of Roles and Responsibilities Report was jointly commissioned by the NAS, SIPTU and the HSE in 2018. It recommended, among other things, updated salary scales to reflect the substantial changes in roles and responsibilities for ambulance service personnel, as well as the skills required to deliver increasingly complex care. And yet, those salary changes have not taken place.
“This is a fundamental question of how we value our ambulance service.
“We have exceptionally skilled ambulance service workers who work strenuous hours and respond daily to life-or-death situations. And we know that they go above and beyond because there is simply not enough of them. Pay and conditions that are reflective of their work and skill set is about dignity, respect, and retention.
“The Minister must now engage with Unite and SIPTU on the independent roles and responsibilities report, implement salary scales which properly recognise the skill set of ambulance service workers, and urgently introduce an enhanced workforce plan to improve staffing in the National Ambulance Service.”