Ambulance service cuts designed to save cash are going to cost the service more in the long run, a union has claimed.

Unison says Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has scrapped its ‘Urgent Tier’ of ambulances and passed much of the work to the ‘Emergency Tier’.

Urgent Tier ambulances were not used for 999 calls and were usually staffed by less qualified operatives.

Emergency Tier ambulances respond to 999 calls.

YAS Unison branch secretary, Bryn Webster, said ambulance chiefs had implemented a “one size fits all” policy of dispatching one paramedic and one emergency care assistant (ECA).

Previously two ECAs could be sent to jobs that did not require a high a level of expertise.

The union believes the move means YAS is actually spending more than it needs to.

Mr Webster said: “We fundamentally disagree with the fact the trust has gone for a one size fits all model.

“The new model could cost twice as much in some circumstances.

“We’re going to lose contracts to private providers unless we bring the Urgent Tier back.

“The Urgent Tier has never been frontline so it’s not crucial to have a paramedic at every call.”

Mr Webster said the axing of the Urgent Tier had led to staff being re-assigned, with some effectively demoted.

He said the union had disagreed with the introduction of low skilled ECAs earlier this year but had not taken industrial action amid YAS’s target of saving £50m over the next five years.

Rival union Unite was “de-recognised” by ambulance bosses after it launched a dispute over the introduction of ECAs.

Meanwhile, an anonymous source told the Examiner that the scrapping of the Urgent Tier meant 30% fewer ambulances on the streets, putting “lives at risk”.

The source said YAS had increased the number of response cars so it could hit NHS response time targets, but said: “These can’t transport critical patients, who are frequently left waiting for hours for ambulances.”

A YAS spokeswoman declined to confirm or deny either Unison or the source’s claims.

She said: “Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s A&E Workforce Plan for the next five years mainly focuses upon significantly increasing the number of qualified paramedics and retaining our tier of paramedics with additional clinical skills, with the ultimate aim of having a paramedic on every frontline emergency vehicle.

“This plan underpins our commitment to further improving quality and safety at the trust.

“The introduction of emergency care assistants (ECAs) to work alongside paramedics on ambulances follows the lead from the majority of other ambulance services and the role delivers an appropriate level of clinical support to paramedic colleagues.

“The trust’s current performance in terms of ambulances sent to convey the most seriously ill and injured patients to hospital and arrive on scene within 19 minutes is 97.46% in the year-to-date . The national target is 95%.

“We would like to reassure members of the public that patients’ needs are at the heart of everything we do and our absolute focus is ensuring that we continue to deliver a safe, responsive and high quality service to the people of Yorkshire.”