Trade unionists demand ambulance work be classified as "particularly hazardous"

The National Trade Union Federation "Ambulanța" of Romania has responded after a group of individuals attacked an ambulance crew in Cluj County, calling on the authorities to assess and recognise in labour legislation the real risks to which crews working in pre-hospital settings are exposed.

In a press release, the union calls on the competent authorities "to intervene urgently and responsibly to protect staff working in public ambulance services" and to adopt measures to improve crew safety. Among the demands put forward is the classification of public ambulance service activity under Category I of particularly hazardous working conditions, so that it reflects the cumulative and distinctive nature of the risks involved in pre-hospital work.

Multiple, compounding risks

The Federation explains in the press release that an ambulance crew sets out on every call with just one certainty – that they must help – without knowing the conditions under which they will have to do so.

According to the union, pre-hospital medical care takes place in unpredictable environments: on the street, in residential properties, in public spaces, on difficult terrain, in extreme weather conditions, as well as in contexts involving the risk of violence, hazardous substances, fire, or electrocution.

To these must be added biological risk, road risk, the pressure of urgent medical decisions, and the psychological burden generated by repeated exposure to suffering, accidents, death, and traumatic situations. "These risks do not occur in isolation. They can accumulate and act simultaneously. And it is the ambulance crew that arrives directly in the midst of this reality," the press release states.

The Cluj attack – an illustration of staff vulnerability

The trade union federation recalls that, in the Cluj incident, a crew was attacked with clubs, axes, and stones whilst on a mission – a situation that "demonstrates, in the most stark terms, how vulnerable pre-hospital staff can be."

The press release concludes with a warning: "Today it was a crew from Cluj. Tomorrow it could be any ambulance crew in Romania."