AMBULANCE bosses in north-west England have been accused of dragging their feet in taking action after a leading union rep reported having faced abuse involving the n-word. 

Trade union Unite said that the abuse was levelled at a female paramedic by one of her colleagues at North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust in December last year.

The victim complained to bosses but there has since been no conclusion to a disciplinary process.

The union said that the delay in taking action was “the latest example of poor employment relations to hit the trust” as staff prepare to ballot on industrial action against new driving shifts which ambulance workers say are “leaving them exhausted because of excessive mileage.”

Gary Owen, Unite lead officer for health in the north-west, said: “We have an unacceptable situation where one of our dedicated reps, a paramedic, has had to wait six months to obtain justice from the trust’s disciplinary process.

“In December 2020 she was the subject of an alleged racist comment, and once she became aware of this she immediately complained to her employer about it in January 2021.

“However, we have since discovered that the trust was aware that this colleague had made a racist remark some six months earlier – in or around June 2020 – and has allowed the two of them to work together for those six months, with our rep blissfully unaware of the type of person she was working alongside.”

Unite, GMB and Unison are all considering a ballot on industrial action over the introduction of the new driving shifts and have accused management of failing both patients and staff.

The trust was asked to comment.