THE CHAIRMAN of the Lancashire branch of the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel (APAP) union has resigned and another is considering quitting after emergency staff accepted a new deal on pay and conditions.

David Redman stepped down as chairman on Monday, October 14, and branch secretary Neil Cosgrove is considering throwing in the towel on his union activities claiming he has been let down.

Paramedic Neil, 40, of Fulwood, has been actively involved with APAP for nearly a decade and has been branch secretary for nine months.

But now he is considering closing the door on his work with the association claiming he receives "little support" from them.

Neil's dissatisfaction with the result over working conditions and meal-time breaks is just the tip of the iceberg. He claims he has hardly received any back up in his role as branch secretary and has struggled to even get assistance with 'sundry things'.

Neil said: "Getting little things like letter headed notepaper has even proved difficult. I've had four phone calls in nine months from the association. I'm new to this role and Lancashire was the biggest branch of the union and I've asked for help and not got very far. I think people are now leaving and joining other unions.

"We had no alternative but to accept proposals by management. I'm not satisfied with them. They have offered an overtime bonus of £50 to staff who work on normal shift vehicles at weekends.

"This doesn't mean anything to reserve staff who work most weekends."

Union chiefs have said that there was a sizeable minority of ambulance staff who wanted to go ahead with industrial action and they will continue to monitor the conditions.

Retired ambulance worker David Redman, who retired from the emergency service two years ago, said he had only taken on the role of chairman as a temporary measure.

He said: "There's a fine line between interfering and offering support. It's difficult to gauge. The national secretary of the association can't be in everybody's pockets all the time.

"I'm not sure what dealings Neil had with them, but I think they could've been a bit more supportive."