AMBULANCE control centre staff are set for a substantial pay increase to bring them in line with fire and police control staff.

But the announcement has caused disquiet among paramedics and ambulance technicians whose pay will remain at current levels under the Agenda for Change shake up of NHS salaries next October.

The ambulance control staff will move to Devizes in the first week of June.

And their pay rises, which will coincide with the move, will see a current salary of £12,000 increase to £15,000 for a qualified ambulance controller.

Chief executive of the Wiltshire Ambulance Ser-vice NHS Trust, Dennis Lauder, declined to discuss figures, but said the board of the ambulance trust had decided to recognise the qualifications of its control staff with extra pay.

He said: "The pay of these staff members had fallen behind that of their colleagues in previous years and this is now being rectified.

"All other staff will receive pay increases in line with nationally negotiated settlements and these will be benchmarked to compare with equivalent posts in other ambulance trusts across the country."

He said he was due to discuss the issue with trade union representatives in early June and refused to comment further until then.

General Secretary of the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel, Mark Weatherhead said: "The pay of operations staff varies, depending on what grade they are on.

"In general terms we are looking at staff who are currently earning about £12,000 having an increase in wages of about £3,000. The idea is to bring them into line with the fire control staff."

He explained that while the control staff will receive a substantial pay increase under the restructuring, the wages of ambulance paramedics and technicians could suffer.

Under sweeping changes, ambulance technicians, who currently earn £19,500, will see their basic wage drop to £17,500, which will be boosted by extra pay for shift work.

But Mr Weatherhead said some members of staff could see a drop in pay if they are not given the extra shifts.

"This can make life very difficult for staff in this position who are trying to get a mortgage, where your buying power is calculated on your basic wage."

Ambulance paramedics currently earn about £21,000, depending on their experience and skills.

Under the restructuring, their wage will remain the same, with a starting band of £20,000, which will be enhanced to reflect qualifications and experience.

Mr Weatherhead said: "In the case of paramedics, their wage will remain unchanged, but we feel that their wage does not reflect the wealth of new responsibilities they have.

"Originally the service was a scoop and run operation. Now paramedics are able to administer a range of drugs and provide a lot of treatment at the scene.

"We would like to see a wage increase to reflect that."