PARAMEDICS could leave the ambulance service in their hundreds due to constant late finishes.

Unison surveyed more than 1,500 ambulance workers at the East of England Ambulance Service and found 55 per cent were considering leaving due to the extra hours.

More than two thirds said this was causing them stress and 44 per cent said they have taken time off sick with stress as a result.

The results are a big blow to a service currently trying to recruit another 400 student paramedics, following a similar campaign last year, to improve response times and treatment.

They were revealed as part of the Put Back The Heart campaign by the union.

It also revealed only one per cent think the board treat staff with respect of care about their welfare.

However outgoing Chief Executive Dr Anthony Marsh, formely the head of the Essex service, fares much better with about two thirds of staff surveyed feeling they have his support.

Fraer Stevenson, Unison branch secretary, said: “Staff are consistently providing a very high level of care to our patients, through face to face clinical care, and other vital roles, such as call takers, dispatchers, and support services staff.

“This survey highlights although there have been a number of changes in 2014/15 more needs to be done to support our staff.

“A change in culture is needed to help secure the future of our organisation and ensure staff can continue to provide excellent care to our patients.

“These changes rely on all levels of management embracing this change and taking an active part.

“I hope these results are carefully considered by the non executive board, and the senior managers, and positive actions to rectify the perception of staff are made a priority.

“The senior decision makers in our ambulance trust have a lot of work to do to rebuild relations with their staff.”

Board chairman Sarah Boulton said: “Since I joined a year ago, we have made significant improvements in our ongoing transformation and the board has our service to patients and better supporting our staff at the forefront of its work.

"We're also involving staff in a massive new programme to help change the culture of the organisation for the better which is something myself and the board have made a top priority.

"This work, as well as supporting new career pathways, paramedic recruitment and other development programmes, will help us make this one of the best organisations to work for."

The trust also pointed to its own survey which had more encouraging results and suggested work related stress was down nine per cent, although still high, and more people thought the trust was becoming a better place to work than in 2013.