AMBULANCE staff will be balloted on potential strike action in protest over "dangerous" working hours which saw one paramedic in the north of Scotland complete a 36-hour shift.

Trade union, Unite, said it would ballot its members amid concerns that staff shortages and extreme shift overruns are causing staff to become dangerously fatigued, putting ambulance crews and patients at risk.

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The dispute has been sparked by anger over the cases of paramedics in based in Lairg in Sutherland and Tomintoul in Moray, which are part of the Scottish Ambulance Service's North Division.

One paramedic contacted the union after working 36 hours on a shift that should have lasted no more than 12 hours. Another paramedic worked 23 hours.

In a statement, the trade union said excessive vacancies were "causing a reliance on overtime", and added that these issues "increase stress and fatigue to totally unacceptable levels".

Unite regional officer Tommy Campbell said: "It is a national scandal that some workers in the area covered by Highland and Islands, and Grampian have worked up to 36 hours.

"This is unfortunately not an unusual incident and there are many other examples of paramedics working dangerously long hours.

"Unite members in their determination to serve the public have had their goodwill and dedication exploited.

"For this reason, Unite will now move to a consultative ballot on industrial action which we hope focuses the minds of Scottish Ambulance Service management.”

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Paul Truslove, Unite's representative for the North Division, added: "The excessive shifts were ambulance crews based in Lairg and Tomintoul. Whilst these are extreme examples, long shifts and on-call working is widespread across Highland & Islands and Grampian."

Unite has previously raised concerns in relation to worker fatigue and issues around patient safety provision at NHS Highland.

A survey in 2017 of ambulance workers carried out by Unite found that 54.3% suffer from stress.

A further 94.5% said morale had worsened and 90.4% said they were suffering from fatigue.

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A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We are continuing to engage positively with our partners at Unite as we are keen to listen to and respond to any concerns raised by our staff or their representatives.

“We have long-standing arrangements in place to ensure we put patients at the heart of our decision making, whilst balancing the needs and wellbeing of our staff - who do a fantastic job day in, day out caring for patients across Scotland.

“We take this issue extremely seriously, which is why we are continuing to meet with staff and work closely with them to help resolve any issues raised.

"We look forward to working in partnership with our union colleagues to provide the very best service to our patients and staff.”