AMBULANCE staff could have to work through chaotic Millennium celebrations without any extra pay, it was revealed today.

And the unhappy mercy crews warned that services will be pushed to breaking point with casualties facing long waits during the end-of-year celebrations because of a shortage of staff and ambulances.

Paramedics have been left fuming after they were told by Lancashire Ambulance bosses at a meeting on Wednesday that they may not receive any extra cash for working Millennium Eve and that there could be no funding available to put extra ambulances on the road.

It has been estimated that there will be four times as many emergency calls on Millennium Eve as on a normal New Year's Eve.

Ian Jones, representative of the Association of Paramedics and Ambulance Personnel (APAP), said: "There are a lot of very, very unhappy ambulance staff out there.

"Depending on contracts, some staff will have to work over New Year for just a day off in lieu, and others for double time and a day off. "Ambulance service staff always work bank holidays, Christmas and New Year, but for the Millennium a little extra money would have been a nice goodwill gesture."

Union representatives were also told that the Government and health authorities still did not know if any extra mercy crews would be put on the road over the festive period.

Mr Jones said: "If there are no extra crews that will mean just 30 ambulances having to cope with up to 2,400 emergency calls throughout Lancashire on New Year's Eve. Some people will have to wait a long time for an ambulance.

"And even if there are more ambulances, staff will be very reluctant to come and work on their day off for no extra money. It is as if the people who make these decisions aren't living in the real world. Everybody was very disappointed after the meeting. We will be discussing with our members what to do next, but the subject of industrial action hasn't been mentioned yet." Hugh Moores, who represents ambulance members of the local government union Unison, said: "Staff aren't very happy about there being no extra pay. This is just another example of how NHS staff are treated in general."

John Calderbank, assistant chief executive of Lancashire Ambulance Service, said: "We have not yet received confirmation from the Department of Health that, nationally, there will be any enhancements to pay for NHS staff.

"It will be up to the individual trusts to make the final decision. Also we have made an application to the health authority for additional ambulances but have not yet received a reply."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said the issue of staff payments for Millennium working was still under discussion.

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