Ambulance workers in Wales say morale at ‘all-time low’

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Welsh ambulance workers say their morale is at "an all-time low" over pay and working conditions, the Unison union said Thursday.

Unison, Wales' largest health union, said in a statement that they are currently re-balloting those working in the Welsh Ambulance Service for industrial action over pay and conditions.

"Staff in the sector have said they are overworked, with some being forced to make “soul-destroying” calls to tell patients an ambulance will not be available for them," said the union in the statement.

Gerynt Page, who has worked for the ambulance service in Wales for 45 years, said that all staff are experiencing "burnout" due to increasing service demands and a lack of hospital beds.

"Staff morale is low as they try to maintain a broken health service in extreme circumstances whilst seeing their pay eroded over the last decade," added Page.

Carol Roberts, an ambulance worker in Wales, also noted that they had no other choice than to ballot for strike action in the face of the ongoing crisis in the health system.

"Morale throughout the Welsh Ambulance Service is at an all-time low," she added.