CRISIS talks were held yesterday between the management of Great Western Ambulance Service and Unison after union members voted for industrial action.

Unison balloted its 600 members on whether they wanted industrial action in protest at controversial shift changes introduced in November, and an overwhelming 96 per cent of staff voted in favour of action.

David Whiting, the chief executive of Great Western Ambulance Service, said he was disappointed with the results of the ballot.

“The changes we are making are about saving more lives,” he said.

“To do that, we need to ensure we have the trained staff and vehicles available when and where our patients need us.

“We are taking on additional frontline staff and looking to make our existing staff more effective by increasing their availability at the busiest times – particularly evenings and weekends.

“This is not about job cuts and it is not about cutting salaries. The changes to shift start and finish times were made so that we can keep as many staff on the road at any one time.

“These changes are based on evidence and all information has been shared with staff and unions.

“We have spent the last six months consulting with staff and meeting with union representatives on a regular basis.

“We believe that the majority of staff understand the need for these changes, indeed less than a quarter of our A&E road crews voted for strike.

“It is crucial that we are available when patients call us.

“To that effect we have robust contingency plans in place to make sure that our public continues to get excellent care and that vital 999 services are not disrupted by Unison industrial action.”

The shift changes include different start times. In Wiltshire the majority of 12 hour shifts were 7am to 7pm or 7pm to 7am but now start times range between 5am and 9am or 5pm and 9pm.

Staff also have to work 75 per cent of weekends, as opposed to 50 per cent.

Simon Newell, the Unison South West regional organiser, said: “There is an agreed disputes procedure.

“Despite this, the trust’s management didn’t adhere to their own policies, and implemented some of these changes.

“The trust threatened staff with dismissal if they didn’t agree to them in order to force their proposals through.

“Members have not taken any action up until now, but the results clearly demonstrate that our members feel these changes are detrimental to their working conditions, and they are willing to take action if the trust refuses to retract the changes which were forcibly implemented and engage in proper consultation.”