CHANGES to paramedic rotas will mean York only has two ambulances working at certain times of the night, a paramedic has claimed.

Paramedics working for Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) in the city have been given 90 days' notice of a proposed rota change which will see a reduction in the number of night time ambulances.

The changes will mean that from the early hours of the morning there will only be one ambulance operating in York and one based in Haxby, said a paramedic, who asked not to be named.

Four currently operate from the early hours of the morning, they said.

In response to the claims, Yorkshire Ambulance Service said no decisions have yet been made.

The paramedic said the plans are particularly concerning as ambulances can get caught queuing at A&E due to bed shortages and are therefore taken off the road.

“Nowadays you expect to be queuing and if you are queuing there’s no one in the local area to get people in York and the surrounding areas,” they said.

“There will be longer waits and less available crews to deal with life threatening emergencies.

“We are going to fight it... If I have a crash in my ambulance, who comes and gets me?

“This cut in night time cover will also see ambulance staff taking a cut in pay as night work is classed as unsocial hours and we are paid accordingly.

“Not one paramedic can see any justification for cutting any cover at anytime.

York Press:

"We are always busy and there are never enough of us as it is without cutting back on ambulances.”

Unison said it is opposed to some of the changes proposed by YAS.

The union is meeting with members in York to discuss concerns on Monday.

They said particular concerns involved night cover, shift lengths and shift times, which included one of 8pm to 8am. Bryn Webster, the Unison branch chair, said: “We are confident we will be able to raise concerns and get things changed.”

He said staff were bearing the brunt of heavy levels of demand.

Crews are currently expected to attend jobs all over North Yorkshire.

During the day time there are up to eight vehicles working in the York area, the paramedic said.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: “We are always looking to improve the services we provide to patients and are constantly reviewing our resources to ensure that our staff and vehicles are in the right place at the right time to respond to patients needing our assistance.

“We are currently making a significant investment in frontline services which will see over 200 extra staff across the region.

"As part of this we are also reviewing where our staff are based to ensure we provide the best service for our patients and any proposed changes to our services will always follow appropriate engagement and consultation with staff, local communities, commissioners and our partners.

“Our current work on reviewing rotas is on-going and no decisions have been made at this stage.

“We remain committed to providing a safe, high quality service for the people of Yorkshire.”