Paramedics on emergency callouts in the Bristol area have

had to phone for backup – by dialling 999.

They are furious that a hotline to their control room has

been scrapped.

They say it has left them without a lifeline to summon help

if they can't cope on a callout.

The hotline served paramedics who man estate cars, which

carry lifesaving equipment and can reach incidents much faster

than traditional ambulances.

Members of the ambulance workers' union – a branch of Unison

– are now considering industrial action because of their safety

fears for paramedics working alone.

Members of the Association of Professional Ambulance

Personnel (APAP) are also preparing to ballot staff on the

possibility of taking action alongside Unison paramedics.

The car paramedics, known as RRVs, are more at risk as they are

on their own. Ambulances are crewed by teams of two.

Since the RRV desk was merged with the control centre's main

dispatch desk in May, paramedics have reported problems getting

through to the control room.

They say that at least six paramedics resorted to calling

999 to speak to the dispatch team.

One paramedic told the Bristol Evening Post of an incident

in which he had been sent to a patient with a known history of

violence and was not alerted until he arrived and was told to

wait in his car for police officers.

He said: "Everything was OK so the police left me on my own

with the patient, but things deteriorated when it took an hour

for an ambulance to arrive and I had to withdraw from the scene

and used 999 to get through to control."

Paramedics have a radio system to contact the control room,

but union members said it can take as long as 15 to 20 minutes

to get through, and can't be used hands free while driving.

Under the RRV desk system paramedics would use the dedicated

line to inform the control room when they had finished a job

and were ready to be sent out on more calls but the unions said

the delay in using the radio means staff can be sat idle while

they wait to get through to dispatchers.

Collective grievances have been taken up with the Great

Western Ambulance Service by paramedics in the former Avon area

and because the service has not come up with an appropriate

resolution, Unison and The Association of Professional

Ambulance Personnel (APAP) are preparing to ballot staff on the

possibility of taking action.

About 45 RRV, emergency care practitioners and air support

Unison members in the Avon area are likely to receive ballot

papers. APAP could not confirm how many of their members would

be involved in a ballot over action.

It is unlikely that GWAS staff will strike over the issue

because paramedics prefer not to take action that could have a

detrimental effect on patients.

Bristol paramedic and Unison branch chairman, Ian Whittern,

said the new system means the general control room dispatchers

are now having to deal with more crews which means they have

even less time to focus on the lone workers.

At peak times GWAS said two dispatchers and one assistant

are responsible for 25 ambulances and 13 RRVs in the former

Avon area and there are plans to recruit an additional

assistant.

Mr Whittern said: "At least half a dozen staff have reported

to me that they have waited a long time to get through and have

had to dial 999 once or twice and other people have reported

that they have been to incidents where they have not been told

a patient had a history of violence and they got to the scene

and had to quickly withdraw.

"Others have reported leaving equipment at scenes because

they had to withdraw quickly from violence they were not warned

about.

"And paramedics are also being sent out to areas that we

deem unsafe.

Having started grievance proceedings in May, we have got to

the point where Unison is processing forms and ballot papers

will probably be issued."

GWAS said they were not aware of paramedics making 999 calls

to get through to the control room.

They declined to reveal how many calls were made each day to

the RRV desk.

Jonathan Fox, of APAP, said: "As a serving paramedic who has

spent most if the last 15 years on an RRV unit, I can totally

sympathise with these problems and APAP is supporting Unison to

reinstate the desk because of safety implications."

Mr Fox said APAP could not confirm how many members in GWAS

are likely to be balloted because they are waiting for the

outcome of a meeting between the two unions.

GWAS said a new dedicated phone line was installed in the

control room on Wednesday for all Bristol area ambulance staff

to use, including RRVs.

A spokesman for GWAS said: “We have merged our two dispatch

desks with our RRV desk to enable us to send the right clinical

response quickly to patients.

“This will improve our efficiency in dispatching crews to

incidents and will help to improve our response times.”