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Thank you to everyone that voted on the recent EEAS UNISON online ballot. The ballot was vital for us to determine what position we would take on the Trust's view that ASWs should be implimented.

The results where overwhelmingly opposed to the use of ASW's on front line ambulances.

We recognise that the questions that we used in the ballot possibly needed clarification and future ballots will take that into consideration. In any case, the results told us what immediate direction we needed to take on the issue. Industrial action and further action would be subject to a new ballot in the future.

Question	Yes	No
Should we withdraw from the negotiating group on principle? Bear in mind that we have been told that the introduction of the ECA role, in large numbers, will be happening as of next year?	29%	71%
Should we stay part of the group and try and achieve the best deal possible for our members but accept that the ECA role will be imposed?	42%	58%
Should we withdraw from the group and place the matter in dispute?	57%	43%

 

The geographic breakdown of voting across the service appeared in the table below. Clearly we would like to encourage members in Bedfordshire and vote more actively. Hertfordshire and Essex members voted well.

County	Percentage of Total Votes
Suffolk	16%
Norfolk	9%
Hertfordshire	32%
Bedfordshire	5%
Cambridgeshire	18%
Essex	20%

 

The ballot gave members the opportunity to write a few lines of text to highlight their feelings on the ASW proposals. A small selection of these are displayed below. We do not display the authors names - these are kept strictly confidential from the Trust and the messages were useful for us to structure a strong argument.

Not fair on the ECAs, Paras, EMTs or members of the public. The public expect staff turning up at an incident in an ambulance to be fully qualified and trained to a high standard, NOT a driver with little more than a first aid certificate. Their more qualified colleagues will not have anyone to discuss clinical issues with and will in effect be solely responsible for the patient in their care. I believe this will make what is already at times a very stressful job, much more so.

Strongly believe ECAs should not be working on front line emergency ambulances. This is an emergency medical response and therefore requires clinical skills for both crew members. This is in my opinion a very shortsighted option aimed at saving money and not providing a clinically focused service.

There are times on the road when you need to have the backing and help of an equally or higher trained member of staff. This could be in a highly pressured situation where you need to be able to trust in your crewmates ability and work as a team perfectly. Using ASW's as part of a crew is possibly the dumbest idea that the service has come up with. It will be very dangerous regarding patient care. If something goes wrong it will be the higher trained member of staff that will be responsible and that is not fair.

I feel that the ASW role will make my role as a Paramedic untenable. If they are accepted as a cheap alternative to the Technician role they will undermine the vital part that qualified Technicians play within the Ambulance Service.

 

The online ballot ran for one month and was well publiscised throughout the Trust. If you missed your oportunity to vote then it is likely that you havent provided us with your most recent details. Our e-news systems allows us to confidentially email you the very latest important updates on our work and will make you aware of any future ballots. Click here to register for e-news.

 

Read the latest EEAS UNISON ASW Press Releases