EMPLOYEES of the Great Western Ambulance Trust are officially the most miserable in the land.

A report released last week by watchdog The Health Commission revealed staff had the lowest positive feeling' in the country and the lowest rating for staff involvement and feedback.

And as well as morale being rock bottom they also work more hours than employees of any other health trust.

Just under half of all Great Western Ambulance workers took part in a national survey giving feedback on what it is like to work for the trust.

Findings revealed workers do the most amount of overtime nationally to cope with the pressures of the job and suffer the second highest number of work related injuries.

Only 17 percent of staff were given appraisals in 2006. Union representatives were not surprised by the findings.

Steve Smart, UNISON branch secretary for Great Western Ambulance Trust, told the Standard: "The new trust will repeatedly talk about legacy problems and what they inherited but the staff feel there is no one there to speak to.

"It's no secret that we have been saying for many months that we are underfunded and we are still no better off. The next task is to improve upon it for next year."

The trust has said it will be introducing a number of new initiatives to share ideas and consult with staff over the next year.

Judy Saunders, director of HR at the trust, said: "We accept that many of the results of the staff survey are disappointing.

"In the year of survey, there has been a huge amount of change for staff to cope with. We have seen the merger of three large ambulance trusts, each with their own different ways of working.

"Despite the demands placed on them, most staff have shown real commitment."

Spokeswoman Melanie Chiswell added: "The pace of change has made the task of keeping everyone equally informed and involved a challenging one.

"We are confident that new plans in place will help to build a positive culture and identity; one that all staff can identify with and be proud of."

However Mr Smart added: "You can talk about what you want to do but unless you have the money it is just pie in the sky."