The city's ambulancemen on Monday demanded that they be allowed to break away from the Fire Services Department (FSD), because their previous demands have not been taken seriously.

The FSD Ambulancemen's Union, representing 95 percent of 2,400 frontline paramedics, said members had been forced to work around manpower shortages during a time when their medical responsibilities had been getting heavier.

The union charged the FSD had not offered solid resolutions to the problems.

The union also charged the FSD had rejected Wat Ki-on, a retired ambulanceman, who was chosen as the union's secretary general, from participating its meeting with the department.

The FSD countered Wat is not an incumbent staff member.

The department said it has "no intention of interfering with the union's independent rights". It also expressed a preference for resuming meetings with the ambulancemen.

The city's demand for ambulance service, along with first-aid service, has been growing fast for the past decade. The number of calls in 2010 was 630,000, which nearly doubled the figure a decade ago, mainly owing to the aging population requiring more urgent medical help, according to Chan Shi-ki, the union's chairman.

In contrast, the number of ambulance staff members has increased only around 20 percent over a decade or so.

Chan estimated that the team will need a few hundred more staff members to assuage the high pressure and tempo of work. He also noted that there will be a surge of staff members retiring in the coming few years, and that the FSD's decision to increase 370 staff members for the entire department may not satisfy the demand.

Currently, the ambulancemen work 12-hour shifts, and barely have time for lunch - because of the nature of their life-saving services.

"We understand that other departments may be short of hands as well, but that cannot justify not addressing our problem. We need to have enough time to eat - not swallow - so that we have enough energy to save people," Chan said.

Tony Leung, spokesman for the FSD, said that the department "will consider all factors, including the need for service and the needs of the staff members, when making arrangements for lunch breaks. Leung also said that there are always crackers and water in the ambulance, in case the paramedics do not have time to eat.

The ambulancemen also bear greater responsibility after earning entitlement to make a wider range of first-aid decisions, including giving intubations, medications for cardiac disease, asthma, allergy, hypoglycemia, and cramps.

"Sometimes we make important decisions like the doctors do," Chan said.

andrea@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 10/18/2011 page1)