Lives are being ‘put at risk’ because of a crisis within the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS), one of its workers has claimed. The emergency medical technician (EMT) said that the system for managing shifts in the service was 'shambolic'. The NIAS said it wants to reassure the public that calls are being prioritised to ensure rapid response times. On Saturday the NIAS was twelve crews short because of a combination of sickness, staff and cancelled overtime. The NIAS said that this situation was not unusual at the weekend. It also said it had become reliant on the support of the independent and voluntary sector over the last two years. The EMT worker, who did not want to be identified, has worked for the service for over a decade and said the situation was the worst he had ever seen.