Ambulance Workers

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:16 pm on 31 January 2023.

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Photo of Delyth Jewell Delyth Jewell Plaid Cymru 2:16, 31 January 2023

Diolch, Trefnydd. Last week, I was proud to stand on the picket line with ambulance workers in Merthyr Tydfil. None of those paramedics and ambulance workers wanted to be on strike—they wanted to be working, because their lives revolve around saving other people's lives. But they felt they had no choice because their pay is going down and the pressure is going up. But, away from pay and conditions, they talked to me about mental health strain, how trauma has become commonplace for them, seeing people dying, and witnessing other people's distress and pain and grief, day in and day out. I was really concerned to hear that the trauma risk management support isn't always enough. One of the paramedics described a truly awful thing that had happened to them on their shift, which involved someone dying, and they somehow didn't qualify for that trauma support. So, could the Welsh Government look urgently again at the support that's offered to the people whose job it is to support us in our most desperate hour of need? How can we make sure that we're giving enough help to the helpers?