Wiltshire ambulance staff have voted in favour of going on strike.

A ballot of UNISON members was held because of the Great Western Ambulance NHS Trust’s proposals to implement a change in shift patterns, as well as a number of other long term issues.

The trust was notified of the outcome of the ballot yesterday.

After some of the proposals were introduced, despite a trade dispute being registered with the trust, 96 per cent of union members voted 'yes' to some form of action.

Simon Newell, 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.”

David Whiting, chief executive of Great Western Ambulance Service, said: “The changes we are making are about saving more lives. To do that, we need to ensure we have the trained staff and vehicles available when and where our patients need us.

“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.”

UNISON representatives are expected to hold talks with the trust at 1pm today.