Exclusive:Ambulance staff 'working five hours or more' beyond finishing time due to workload pressures
Unite raised concerns over patient and staff safety
Ambulance staff are struggling under "unacceptable workload pressures" with some kept on duty for five hours or more beyond their finishing time, trade union leaders have warned.
Unite has now requested a meeting with management at the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) as it insisted “excessive” working hours are having an impact on patient and staff safety.
It said fixing these problems must be the priority rather than cutting the number of health boards, as outlined in First Minister John Swinney’s programme for government.
James O'Connell, Unite’s regional coordinator, said: "Unite has repeatedly raised our concerns over the health and well-being of SAS workers.
“Workers are routinely kept on beyond their shift times. There are increasing reports of staff being kept on duty for five hours or more beyond their scheduled finishing time.
"These unacceptable workload pressures are a direct result of the failure to invest in our hospitals. This is resulting in delayed patient handover times from ambulances to hospital staff.
“It is having knock-on impacts for patient and staff safety as well as morale and the retention of staff. Fixing these problems are the priorities facing our NHS not the reorganisation of health boards which is focused on cutting costs not improving services."
In its letter to the SAS, Unite said that while it recognises “that operational pressures and demand can occasionally result in staff finishing late, the frequency and extent of these delays are becoming unacceptable”.
The union said routinely keeping staff on shift beyond their contracted or rostered finishing time for such prolonged periods has a significant impact on welfare, rest periods and shifts, patient and staff safety, and morale and retention.
It added: “Unite does not believe that routinely relying on staff to absorb these levels of additional working is an appropriate or sustainable solution to operational pressures.
“We are therefore formally requesting a meeting with management to discuss the scale of the problem, understand the reasons why staff are routinely being kept late, and, importantly, agree practical measures to prevent this becoming the norm.
“At the meeting, Unite would like to consider matters including staffing levels, hospital turnaround and handover delays, escalation arrangements, rostering, workload, the management of late-running crews, and whether there are alternative measures that could be implemented to reduce excessive overruns.
“We would also request that the service provides, where available, data on the number and duration of late finishes for A&E staff so that we can properly understand the extent of the issue and work collectively towards a solution.
“Unite is keen to approach this through partnership and find a sustainable resolution. However, we must also be clear that keeping staff routinely five or more hours beyond their finishing time cannot be regarded as an acceptable or sustainable workforce practice.
“I would therefore appreciate a meeting being arranged at the earliest opportunity to discuss this matter and agree an action plan.”
As part of his programme for government, Mr Swinney unveiled plans to slash the number of health boards in Scotland from 14 to two in what he called “the most significant structural reform of the NHS in the era of devolution”.
The proposals have been fiercely opposed by Unite, which has accused SNP ministers of setting out a "slash and burn programme" that will inevitably result in "swingeing cuts and thousands of job losses".
A SAS spokesperson said: “We continue to experience significant pressure on our services due to lengthy hospital turnaround times at a number of sites across Scotland.
“We fully recognise the impact this pressure has on staff wellbeing and, while there is no evidence of staff being kept on duty for five hours or more beyond their scheduled finishing time, we have implemented a range of measures, including a jointly agreed procedure that improves our ability to ensure staff finish on time.
“We continue to engage with staff-side partners to further enhance this process and welcome constructive engagement on any concerns raised.
“We also continue to work with health board partners to help improve hospital handover times. Our focus remains on delivering safe, effective care for patients while supporting the wellbeing of our staff.”
The Scottish government directed queries to the SAS.
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