Ambulance crews vote to keep their tea breaks despite patient deaths

Those crews who are members of the GMB union rejected a new, enhanced offer from the Scottish Ambulance Service – despite a recommendation from the leaders of all three ambulance unions that members should accept the proposed deal.

The two largest unions represented in the ambulance service – Unite and Unison – are not expected to reveal the result of their membership ballots until 20 September at the earliest.

Mick Conroy, the senior organiser of GMB Scotland, claimed that the only way of resolving the row would be to reclassify the ambulance service as an emergency, rather an essential, service.

He said: “GMB members have again voted by 82 per cent to reject the latest offer from management as it does not deal with the core of the problem, which is that the members want to be on duty at all times to serve the Scottish public.

“GMB’s position is that this issue is not about pay, it is about ensuring that the Scottish Ambulance Service has the resources and the policies to provide a proper emergence service to the people of Scotland.

“The Scottish Ambulance Service should be upgraded to an emergency service, as are fire and police services in Scotland and as it is in England. That would mean that staff are on duty at all times for the whole of their shift and would not be stood down, off-duty for meal breaks like now.”

He added: “The Scottish Government must realise that when people in Scotland call an ambulance in an emergency, it should turn up and that meal breaks should not come into it in any way.”

The dispute flared following the furore over the deaths of two patients when the nearest ambulance crews failed to respond to 999 calls because they were on rest breaks.

Mandy Mathieson died at her home in the Speyside village of Tomintoul after an ambulance technician, on duty just 800 yards from her home, chose not to respond. In April, three-year-old Martyn Gray, from Crieff, Perthshire, died when an ambulance was delayed in responding to a 999 call.

Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservatives’ health spokesman, condemned the GMB members’ decision to reject the latest offer of a £50 payment for each individual call-out on top of an annual payment of £250. And he called for on health secretary Nicola Sturgeon to intervene in the dispute.

Mr Fraser said: “This farcical situation has dragged on for long enough now. Alex Salmond and his SNP ministers have been hoping that if they shut their eyes and pretend it isn’t happening, it will all go away. It won’t.”

Charles Mathieson, the firefighter brother of Ms Mathieson, told The Scotsman he was “confused” by the GMB vote.

He said: “I thought the union leaders were recommending acceptance. If the Scottish Government turn round tomorrow and say, ‘OK you are an emergency service’, does that mean all the GMB’s members are going to work through their breaks for nothing? They won’t. I can’t understand what they are aiming for.”

A spokeswoman for Ms Sturgeon said: “This is disappointing, but we are hopeful other balloted staff members will accept this very fair proposal from management.”