A whistleblower who highlighted major failings in the Scottish Ambulance Service has hit out after he was threatened with the sack.
Jamie McNamee, Unite’s Scottish ambulance convener, faced false allegations at work, which his union believe were as a direct result of him speaking about the crisis in the service. The Daily Record began highlighting the ambulance crisis in 2021, with waiting times putting lives at risk as crews queued outside hospital A&E departments for hours.
McNamee spoke out as waiting times escalated, with the average reaching six hours, highlighting the fears of his fellow paramedics that lives would be lost unless action was taken. But after speaking out, Jamie was hit with disciplinary action for allegedly bullying a colleague – which was later dropped after Jamie strongly refuted the claims.
Speaking for the first time about his ordeal, Jamie told the Daily Record: “During the process it became clear that these false statements had been put forward in an attempt to have me disciplined as a gross misconduct case. This would have in all likelihood resulted in dismissal from the service due to the seriousness of these allegations.
“These events left me feeling exposed and vulnerable. To date I have received no formal apology and acknowledgement of the harm that was inflicted upon me both professionally and personally.
“I became disengaged from the organisation that I had been proud to serve for 37 years of my life with an unblemished career. I am back at work but have not recovered from this.”
Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish Secretary, said Jamie had been targeted due to his outspoken comments on the crisis within the ambulance service. Rafferty added that the way Jamie had been treated was “absolutely shocking and disgraceful”.
He added: “If Scottish Ambulance Service managers believe they can target a leading trade union representative in a public body for holding them to account during the crisis it has faced over accident and emergency waiting times, you can only imagine the signals this sends out to the wider workforce.
“We know Jamie McNamee’s case is the tip of the iceberg and there are multiple live grievance cases implicating managers. There is a recorded history in the Scottish Ambulance Service of managers covering up, intimidating and bullying staff.
"The Scottish Government must launch an urgent review of the service, which is being mismanaged from the very top. It simply is not fit for purpose.
“The toxic culture not only has massive implications for the workforce but, ultimately, the public who rely on these dedicated public health professionals in their time of greatest need. It is nothing less than a national scandal.”
In September 2021, we told how some patients in medical emergencies were waiting in excess of 20 hours for an ambulance. Later that month, Jamie led the pleas to help ambulance staff save lives, saying the pressure “is having a terrible impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of some of our colleagues”.
It came as a worker said she was “concerned for my own health and wellbeing and that of my fellow colleagues”. She asked not to be identified fearing she would be sacked.
Instead, Jamie – as a union rep – spoke out to back her. The Record’s Ambulance SOS campaign sparked an urgent Scottish Government response and they announced extra cash to help alleviate the crisis.
A month later, Jamie was told his job was under threat. He went on six months leave from October 2021 to April 2022 after a disciplinary process was launched against him.
However, Unite is pursuing a claim against the SAS over his treatment. A case for personal injury and workplace ill treatment will be taken through the Employment Tribunal process.
Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “There is no place for bullying anywhere in the workplace and particularly not in the ambulance service. This needs to be urgently addressed by the Government.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We do not comment on individual cases. However, any such behaviour is completely unacceptable and we take all allegations seriously.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment on individual matters as these are between the employee and health board as the employer.”
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