PATIENTS' lives will be put at risk because of a decision to pair-up ambulance workers with "minimal training" for emergency call-outs, it is claimed.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service has revealed in a memo to staff that emergency care assistants (ECAs) will work together in "less serious" emergencies.
However, paramedics argue ECAs have the same training as someone who attends a CPR course and would not be equipped to deal with an incident that at first seemed minor but then escalated into something more serious.
A paramedic, who did not wish to be named, said: "People are going to die – there are no two ways about it. We were always told the ECAs would never be paired together, but now they are.
"When people call 999 they expect a paramedic who is fully trained to deal with all manner of emergencies.
"The ECAs have a few weeks' training and learn the same basic first aid you'd get if you did a CPR course.
"I wouldn't want them treating any members of my family."
Ambulance workers raised concerns about the controversial emergency care assistant role when it was introduced last year, but say they were reassured by managers that ECAs would only be paired with fully trained paramedics. Speaking in March last year, Vince Larvin, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust's locality director for North and East Yorkshire, told the Mail: "They (ECAs) work with trained paramedics, so they can help on scene and drive the ambulance while the paramedic attends to the patient in the back."Now, in a memo to staff, leaked to the Mail, the trust states: "We recognise that the primary role of the ECA is to work with a paramedic as part of an emergency ambulance crew.
"However, we are going to ask ECA colleagues to work more flexibly when crewed together, fully utilising the skills they have."
The Yorkshire Ambulance Service memo.The ECAs will be asked to be first responders, transport patients to on-going care following assessment by clinicians and respond to less serious incidents.
However, the Mail's source said: "We've all been to calls where it sounded like something really minor, but then it turned out the patient was having a heart attack or something very serious.
"But when a paramedic is there, they have the knowledge and skills to recognise it is something serious and deal with it.
"Everyone is scared, but if anyone gets found speaking to the press about it, they'll lose their jobs.
"It'll take a high-profile death to get things changed."
In response to the accusations, chief executive David Whiting defended the role of the ECA.
He said: "Patients' needs are at the heart of everything we do and our absolute focus is to ensure that we continue to deliver a safe, responsive and high-quality service to our patients.
"Developments to the ECA role formed part of a wider package that was discussed with Unison last week and, although they felt unable to agree to the changes as a whole, they did indicate they were satisfied with this element of the proposal.
"ECAs are operating well within their capability following their training and this development is also consistent with how other ambulance services operate across the country.
"We will be using our ECAs more flexibly to transport patients who do not require monitoring or treatment.
"They can also perform a valuable role as a first responder on scene with a defibrillator, much like our volunteer community first responders.
"As the primary role of the ECA is to work in a clinical support capacity alongside a fully trained clinician, there will be very few occasions where they will be required to fulfil this additional element of their role.
"Along with many of our staff, we feel this is a positive move, which allows us to fully utilise the skills of our ECAs and further improve the responsiveness of our service and the care we provide to patients. It also provides an opportunity for these staff to progress.
"It is disappointing that Unison has been unable to fully support us on this development, but we are committed to finding ways in which we can make things better for both our patients and our workforce and we will continue to work with our staff to do this."
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