An ambulance service is in 'disarray' and workers 'should not be worrying about having to choose between eating or heating this winter', a union has warned ahead of a vote on potential strike action.

North East Ambulance Service faces a strike vote as GMB Union launches a formal industrial action ballot, with dates set to be announced in the coming days. 

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Union bosses are warning the emergency service can only keep going thanks to the 'good will of the overworked and undervalued crews'. 

The vote comes following a consultative ballot which saw almost 90 per cent of NEAS members vote in favour of a walk out. 

GMB say they have almost 750 NEAS paramedics and ambulance workers who are angry over the Government’s imposed four per cent pay award, which they say leaves them facing yet another massive real terms pay cut. 

GMB has also announced a formal strike ballot among almost 1,5000 members at Yorkshire Ambulance Service. 

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Michael Hunt, GMB Organiser, said:  “Ambulance workers should not be worrying about having to choose between eating or heating this winter whilst providing a crucial public service across our communities. 

“North East Ambulance Service is in disarray; it can only keep going thanks to the good will of the overworked and undervalued crews. 

“But good will only goes so far. 

“GMB members have a clear message for the Government and the employer: ‘we are worth more, we deserve more, we are willing to make a stand and we want a ballot for strike action’. 

“GMB Union will stand shoulder to shoulder with our members and fight for the above inflation pay rise that our NHS workers deserve.” 

Karen O’Brien, director of people and development at North East Ambulance Service, said: “Although NHS pay is set nationally, and is therefore outside of our control, we recognise this is a very difficult time for everyone right now, including our colleagues.

"We value the contribution of all our colleagues who, regardless of where they work within our organisation, work incredibly hard every day to keep our patients safe.

"We understand their concerns around feeling overworked, and are confident that this feeling should start to ease following significant additional investment in our service, which is being spent on recruiting more people to join our teams.

“If industrial action is taken, we will work together with our trade union colleagues to keep critical services running.”

Earlier this year, the Government announced NHS England would be investigating ‘tragic failings’ within NEAS which had been exposed by a whistleblower.

The Department of Health and Social Care said more details about the review would be shared in due course, which will look into heartbreaking testimonies from the families of patients who died and allegations the service withheld details from coroners in more than 90 cases between 2018 and 2019.

NEAS said they welcomed the independent scrutiny and would 'make sure that the families we serve and our staff have the levels of assurance they need'.

Award winning BBC documentary series Ambulance is currently following frontline staff at NEA) as they provide vital urgent and emergency pre-hospital care in the region.

Now on its ninth series, the team from production company Dragonfly were embedded with NEAS to film footage for the BBC’s BAFTA-award winning series between January and April this year.

The series has been following crews across Tyne and Wear, Durham, Darlington and Teesside.

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