Alarming & depressing

Half of staff see patients deteriorate or die due to delays

- VIVIENNE AITKEN

HEROIC Scottish ambulance crews are continuing to face an "extremely alarming and depressing situation", according to a union boss.

The attack by the Unite general secretary Sharon Graham comes after a startling survey showed more than half of paramedics had witnessed patients dying or their conditions worsen because of hospital delays.

The survey of ambulance staff showed 53 per cent of all paramedics and technicians had been involved in fatal "adverse clinical events" due to long hospital turn-around times.

Unite, which carried out the survey, found staff continue to work excessively long-shifts often arising from over-runs due to hospital delays and other pressures - with 84 per cent having worked more than 12 hours on a shift.

Derek Thomson, the union's Scottish Secretary, said: "Unite's members at the Scottish Ambulance Service face unacceptable and, unprecedented challenges."

Some under-pressure ambulance staff have worked more than 20 hours on a single shift, with a quarter putting in a shift of between 15 to 20 hours.

The survey also reveals Scottish Ambulance Service morale remains low amid long shifts, high stress and historic levels of abuse.

Unite Scotland has today exclusively revealed its updated Scottish Ambulance Service survey findings to the Daily Record.

The survey confirms the extent of the pressures faced by frontline workers.