Pressures at work impact hugely on the health and wellbeing of ambulance staff, yet their retirement age has continued to rise.
UNISON is proud to represent members working in the ambulance sector. But we know that over the years, many roles have become increasingly difficult.
Over exposure to traumatic events and the physical nature of some roles means that for many, working up until 68 just isn’t possible and some staff are forced to leave well before they want to.
That’s why UNISON is calling for all staff working in operational roles (such as paramedics, ECAs and EMTs), PTS, emergency call centre staff, and clinically qualified mangers to be given the option to retire earlier.*
If you work in one of these roles, UNISON wants to hear from you. Please fill out our survey today to help shape our campaign here.
Not an emergency service?
It has long baffled staff and the public that despite driving under blue lights and providing emergency lifesaving care, ambulance staff aren’t classified as an emergency service.
The classification of the ambulance service as an ‘essential’ rather than an ‘emergency’ service as well as the reluctance from politicians to make a real change, have held back ambulance staff from being afforded the recognition that they deserve.
It is true that the police and firefighters pay more into their pensions to retire earlier. We recognise that not all members will want to pay even more into their pensions than they do now which is why we believe that staff should be given the choice.
Making the case for early retirement for ambulance staff
Our academic researchers David Walters and Eva Makri indicate why UNISON’s campaign for an earlier retirement age for some groups of ambulance staff is justified on several grounds:
“Unsurprisingly, our initial findings confirm that ambulance workers are exposed to significant health risks in the course of their workincluding sleep disturbances, poor nutrition post-traumatic stress disorders, high rates of musculoskeletal injury, and comparatively high suicide rates. Further studies show that physical demands, health risks, violence and post traumatic cognitions experienced by ambulance workers are similar to those experienced by other emergency service workers such as firefighters and the police and are far worse than elsewhere in the NHS.
Research suggests that the working conditions and perceptions of lack of support lead to job dissatisfaction, high staff turnover rates and poor job retention among ambulance workers. Yet there is relatively little published research on how the ambulance sector attempts to protect its employees from these known risks. While the presence of risks to mental and emotional health of these workers are acknowledged by reviews, most health and safety studies have little to offer by way of risk management or control measures addressing these risks. It may be that these aren’t possible for ambulance workers in which case, early retirement might very well be a solution.”
*These groups of staff already qualify for the Early Retirement Reduction Buy Out scheme (ERRBO) in England which was negotiated by UNISON and the other ambulance trade unions as part of the 2015/16 pay deal.
