A Donegal County Councillor has said the HSE must recognise ambulance service staff skillsets and reward them accordingly to prevent a planned upcoming strike.
Yesterday, it was announced that SIPTU members at the National Ambulance Service (NAS) will take strike action next month in a long-standing dispute over updated salary scales.
The union said NAS has failed to implement the findings of an independent report to update staff salary scales to reflect changes in their responsibilities and workload over the last 20 years.
There will be a 24-hour work stoppage on May 12, followed by a 48-hour stoppage beginning on May 19 and a 72-hour stoppage beginning on May 26. A work-to-rule will also be put in place from May 11, involving non-cooperation with new procedures or changes.
Chair of the Regional Health Forum West, Councillor Gerry McMonagle.
Chair of the Regional Health Forum West, Councillor Gerry McMonagle, told the Donegal News that he hopes the strike action doesn’t go ahead and that the HSE and SIPTU come to an arrangement.
“I hope that for high level of expertise and skillsets that we have within the ambulance service, the personnel are rewarded adequately,” said the Sinn Féin councillor.
“I don’t think the public are aware of the extent of the skillset the average ambulance service member has now,” he continued.
Cllr McMonagle spoke of how the service has transformed from just a patient transport to a higher degree of pre-hospital care and treatment.
For example, EMT and Paramedic grades have increased their responsibility for administering various medications by over 80 per cent since 2011.
“A lot of the time their skills are negating the reason for the patient to go to hospital, so they are also helping the hospitals in relation to overcrowding,” said Cllr McMonagle.
“That has to be recognised and the HSE has to step up to the plate and recognise those skillsets the ambulance service members have and reward them accordingly.”
Cllr McMonagle said if the planned strike does go ahead the only people who are going to suffer are the general public.
“The HSE needs to recognise the skillsets that are in the ambulance service and ensure there isn’t a strike and that we won’t have any interruption to the service – that’s paramount.”