PARAMEDICS will refuse to answer late-night 999 calls in rural North and mid Wales, union leaders warned last night. The action follows a long-running row over night-time cover in parts of Gwynedd and Powys. Tomorrow unions will meet health bosses in a final attempt to broker a deal over the lack of full-time 24-hour cover in Bala, Tywyn, Knighton and Llanfyllin. The four are the only stations not crewed round the clock. Paramedics say they are forced to leave their beds to answer emergencies, despite completing a full day shift. They claim it puts their own and other lives at risk. From Saturday 27 ambulance staff at the four stations will refuse to answer 999 calls between midnight and 7am. Other crews could be called in to deal with emergencies during the industrial action. The union described the action as a cessation of standby working rather than a strike. And they criticised ambulance chiefs' plans to bring in community paramedics. Wales Ambulance NHS Trust bosses say they cannot comment on contingency plans until after the talks. Talks started at the beginning of September between unions and the trust after warnings standby cover would be stopped if there was no agreement by the end of the month. Members previously voted 10-1 in favour of an overtime ban. Yesterday Unison Cymru's head of health Dave Galligan said: "Sooner or later negotiations have to end. They were putting forward proposals that were not being supported. "They were not coming back to the table with anything more substantial." Mr Galligan said one idea put forward by the trust was establishing community paramedics. He added: "We're not going to swap one unsafe practice for another. It was deemed by members to be an unsafe working." He admitted the trust was in a difficult position, but said it was no fault of the union. Mr Galligan said: "We have been talking about the situation for a long time. It is potentially putting paramedics, patients and other road users at risk." The union believes if the trust went ahead with its plans to try and bring other paramedics from other areas to cover the four stations then it fell short of providing proper cover. A Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust spokesman said it would be inappropriate to comment on its plans to try and provide cover before the meeting on Wednesday. | 
