A trade union is calling for the chief executive of an ambulance trust to resign after a survey revealed a “boys’ club” culture.

GMB conducted a survey of almost 900 staff members at the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) last summer.

A number of issues were raised in the survey, the main five, GMB says, being discrimination towards female staff members, sexual harassment, bullying, staff being scared to speak out and what is being called the ‘boys’ club’ culture.

The workplace was described as “very male dominant” and a “toxic environment”.

In January, the trust highlighted concerns over how the questionnaire was carried out, but the union is now calling for the chief executive, Simon Weldon, to step down.

Lib Whitfield, GMB senior organiser, said: "Our members, who are dedicated ambulance workers, face a culture of bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation, which the senior leadership of the trust is complicit in.

"Despite their efforts to seek justice through every established route in their workplace, their voices continue to be silenced by the trust.

"Those who dare to speak up, including GMB representatives within the organisation, have faced bullying, intimidation and victimisation since raising these issues.

"We have zero faith or confidence in the senior leadership of SECAmb to deal with this matter and feel we have no other option other than to look outside the trust to ensure the workforce is protected when they are at work."

Results of the survey showed more than a quarter of those who responded, equating to more than 200 people, said they had experienced bullying at work.

It comes after an investigation by Sky News, which spoke to former employees.

One described seeing Nazi flags on a manager’s screen in a Zoom meeting, where she was blowing the whistle on inappropriate behaviour.

She further claims feeling isolated at work after raising the issues, and says she even had dog poo left on her doorstep.

Sky News also spoke to a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted in the back of an ambulance by a private paramedic working with SECAmb in 2021.

Of the claims, a SECAmb spokesperson said: “We will always take appropriate action when it comes to addressing inappropriate behaviour that is not in line with our values and will not tolerate this from anyone, regardless of their role in the organisation.

“We take the welfare of our people and our patients seriously and have fully investigated the historic cases covered in a Sky News report today. This included independent external reviews, commissioned by our Chief Executive.

“And while we recognise that as a Trust and a sector, there remains more to be done to improve our culture, we do not believe the concerns raised by the GMB reflect how most of our staff tell us it feels to work at SECAmb now.”

The spokesperson referenced a recent NHS Staff Survey of 3,268 colleagues, which said 60% of staff said they felt safe to speak up about anything that concerned them, up from about 45% in 2022.

They added: “We remain committed to working in partnership with our unions to embed further improvements, but are clear that this will only be achieved through meaningful and constructive collaboration.

“As always, we would urge anyone who feels they have been the victim of harassment or has a concern of any kind to report it, and they will be listened to.”