Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.

In October 2010 I wrote a posting on this blog entitled ‘Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire (Service)!’ If you can, you should go back and read it. Good morning: it’s Groundhog Day!

Tory London Fire Authority Chiefs must have  “if at first you don’t succeed, try try again” hot wired into their brains! This is usually a positive attribute to have, but not in this case. Ten out of ten for persistence – nought out of ten for originality!

This issue is like a smouldering ember that lays dormant after a fire is extinguished, to then suddenly burst back into flames a while later! A spontaneous combustion of a variation on a theme (or in other words flogging a dead horse over and over!).

The London Assembly’s strategic review ‘The Future of the London Ambulance Service’ in December 2011 raised the issue of closer working between the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade. It also spoke about investigating the possibility, and practicalities, of shared facilities among other things. 

Whether people agree with that or not, it is a million miles away from what the Fire Authority are once again proposing, in public, on the back of the Greater London Assembly (GLA) report: merger! Which report have they been reading?

The December 2011 report is very clear in the view that the LAS should stay firmly within the National Health Service. It is very clear in the view that the Mayor of London should not ‘run’ the LAS but rather have a more direct role in the strategic oversight, while ensuring the LAS remains within the NHS.

Where does the word ‘merger’ appear? I think smoke is getting into their eyes.

I stated in 2010 that if the worst case scenario ever came about, it would not be a ‘merger’ anyway: it would be a take over! A political fire storm to eliminate the London Ambulance Service!

From the staff point of view, we shouldn’t forget that they are already attacking the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) from within the London Fire Authority and as sure as eggs are eggs, they will want to attack our union organisation within the LAS as well.

From Londoners point of view, this is not about public safety or well-being of patients.

This is nothing short of a blatant, naked attempt of land-grab and empire building, coupled with a desire to control ambulance workers under one American style ’emergency rescue service’. A concept that health professionals and trade unions ditched ten years ago.

Fire authority chairman Brian Coleman quoted in the London Evening Standard today (26th January 2012) said “this could be just the tip of the iceberg”. How right he is! Of course, he didn’t see the irony of that phrase.

Remember the Titanic! This idea of merger should also, finally, go down with all hands on deck, and let us hope that the captain doesn’t ‘accidentally’ fall into a lifeboat!

Ambulance workers and fire-fighters already work well together, doing different jobs, with different skills, for different outcomes. Mix us both together and you water us all down (pardon the pun!).

We have a lot of serious issues facing us over the next few years that may distract us, but don’t take your eye of this particular smouldering ember.

Let’s all be political fire marshalls and speak up for our Service and out against this ‘revolving door’ madcap idea.

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Eric Roberts

Branch Secretary