The New South Wales Ambulance Service hopes to hold onto specialist paramedics at locations where rescue services will now be handed over to the Fire Brigades.

Health Minister Reba Meagher has announced that eight ambulance units in Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Camden will disband their rescue service, freeing up 88 paramedic positions.

Ambulance Service chief executive Greg Rochford says the rescue paramedics will have the option of retraining to join the NSW Fire Brigade if they wish to continue with rescue work.

"My thoughts are with the rescue paramedics today, this will be a difficult decision for them," he said.

"They are very committed, very passionate about their jobs. I'm very hopeful that as the dust settles on this decision that those paramedics will remain with the Ambulance Service and continue their important careers providing patient care."

Mr Rochford says any money saved by the move will go towards providing other services.

"That'll improve our clinical coverage and it'll improve our ability to respond to medical emergencies and it'll improve our response times throughout the full range of medical emergencies that come to us on a daily basis," he said.

Industrial action

Ambulance officers are threatening industrial action if the Premier, Morris Iemma, does not intervene and reverse the decision.

The Health Services Union says the move puts the public at risk because fire crews do not have the same clinical skills as ambulance paramedics.

Unions spokesman Michael Williamson says the decision is foolhardy and dangerous.

"I cannot rule out the very strong implication that ambulance officers will take industrial action in a form that they have never taken before," he said.

"They are at an absolute critical point. There is no morale in this service."