UNION leaders have called off strike action by ambulance staff at the last minute following concerns about the legal process.

UNISON has withdrawn its notice of industrial action, due to be taken today, in a move welcomed by Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) Chief Executive David Whiting.

Mr Whiting said: “The legal advice we obtained indicated there were concerns about the lack of detail provided by UNISON in issuing us with notice of industrial action.

“Having raised this with UNISON, I welcome their decision to withdraw their notice and postpone the industrial action.”

A meeting was due to be held with union leaders in Bristol yesterday to discuss the package of proposals presented to the union last week.

“We are keen to avoid industrial action and committed to finding an amicable alternative to UNISON’s dispute, for the benefit of our staff and the patients we serve,” he added.

Workers had planned to strike over changes to shift patterns along with a number of other long-term issues, with 96 per cent of workers voting in favour of some sort of action.

It was felt changes could see staff being sent out to calls without the right level of qualifications or training and arriving at incidents where they would be unable to offer any clinical intervention. GWAS maintains the changes will be better for staff. Mr Whiting said it is taking on additional frontline staff and looking to make existing crews more effective by increasing the operational cover we provide at the busiest times - particularly evenings and weekends.

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