Paramedics don’t want unpaid lunch breaks as they are putting lives at risk.

This system was introduced six years ago, under which the ambulance bosses tell the workers to volunteer to be on call at lunchtime.

Thus, when there is a 999 call for some crew who are busy having lunch, then the next nearest vehicle gets the job despite being miles away.

For being sent on jobs during lunch break, paramedics get £25 paid as compensation. However, they get nothing if they are not called upon.

This implies that in case certain emergency workers are out of action for half an hour on every shift, the entire staff loses out on approximately £1,500 every year as compared to the amount they would have been paid for working during the breaks.

North West Ambulance Service feels that the unpaid lunch breaks does not affect patients, as there are enough staff members to cover up for the meal breaks. They added that the conditions for staff and care for patients have been improved a lot.

Meanwhile, an ambulance technician in Scotland got suspended last month for not responding the 999 call of a dying woman as he was on a lunch break.