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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ambulance 'bully' claims probed | Ambulance 'bully' claims probed |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| An independent investigation has been ordered into allegations of bullying and harassment at the Scottish Ambulance Service. | An independent investigation has been ordered into allegations of bullying and harassment at the Scottish Ambulance Service. |
| Senior bosses at the organisation have taken voluntary leave while the complaints are looked into. | Senior bosses at the organisation have taken voluntary leave while the complaints are looked into. |
| The announcement came after Labour claims in parliament that funding cuts were causing problems. | The announcement came after Labour claims in parliament that funding cuts were causing problems. |
| Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has promised to make a statement on wider problems in the service at Holyrood. | Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has promised to make a statement on wider problems in the service at Holyrood. |
| The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed its chief executive, Kevin Doran, and operations director, Grace Kennedy, had taken voluntary leave from their posts while an investigation was carried out. | The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed its chief executive, Kevin Doran, and operations director, Grace Kennedy, had taken voluntary leave from their posts while an investigation was carried out. |
| The details of the allegations are not known - but the ambulance service board has decided to independently investigate the claims with a team headed up by an NHS board chairperson, to be appointed in the next few days. | The details of the allegations are not known - but the ambulance service board has decided to independently investigate the claims with a team headed up by an NHS board chairperson, to be appointed in the next few days. |
| We have staff relations to be proud of in the NHS and I want to make sure that's the way it stays Nicola SturgeonScottish health secretary | |
| The service's finance director, Pauline Moore, has been appointed acting chief executive. | |
| The Unite union, which represents more than 1,400 Scottish Ambulance Service staff, has spent weeks expressing its concerns to the organisation. | |
| Jimmy Farrelly, a senior officer with the union, said he believed management practices had resulted in a culture of bullying and harassment which was hitting staff morale and patient care. | |
| "We welcome the moves taken today by the board of the Scottish Ambulance Service which we believe are a direct response to the concerns we have raised," he said. | |
| Ms Sturgeon welcomed the appointment of an outside inquiry team, adding: "When serious allegations are made its vital that action is taken swiftly. The board of the Scottish Ambulance Service have acted very swiftly. | |
| "We have staff relations to be proud of in the NHS and I want to make sure that's the way it stays," she told BBC Scotland. | |
| 'Disturbing stories' | |
| The move came after MSPs recently voted to ask the health secretary to make a statement to the Scottish Parliament on general issues with the service. | |
| A Holyrood debate heard claims from Labour health spokeswoman Margaret Curran that under-pressure staff and vacant shifts not being covered because of budgetary restrictions had raised the prospect of industrial action. | A Holyrood debate heard claims from Labour health spokeswoman Margaret Curran that under-pressure staff and vacant shifts not being covered because of budgetary restrictions had raised the prospect of industrial action. |
| Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Ross Finnie he had heard "disturbing stories" from within the ambulance service, adding: "Nobody should have to endure bullying at work and, if these allegations are substantiated I expect swift disciplinary action to be taken." | |
| The Tories' Mary Scanlon said of the organisation: "Complaints are up, vehicles numbers are down, volunteer driver numbers are falling and there are serious allegations being made about the manner in which the organisation is being run." | |
| Ms Curran said public confidence in the organisation had to be restored. |