Thousands of ambulance staff in England and Wales are going on strike today – NHS leaders warn they cannot guarantee patient safety.
Speaking to Sky News, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the system would be “under severe pressure” due to the strike and urged Britons to use “common sense about the activities they do”.
He accused the unions of timing the strike when the NHS is already facing winter pressure due to flu, COVID and other illnesses.
Government accused of refusing to talk about pay – strike latest
The strikes, involving around 25,000 staff, come after recent crisis talks between Mr Barclay and the unions failed to resolve the pay issue.
The Unison strike runs from midday until midnight, while the GMB action started at 12am and will also continue until midnight tonight. The Unite strike began at midnight and will end at midday.
All Category 1 calls (the most life-threatening, such as cardiac arrest) are expected to be answered during today’s strike action, while some ambulance trusts have agreed exemptions with unions for specific Category 2 incidents (serious conditions such as stroke or chest pain).
This means that those who suffer trips, falls or other non-life-threatening injuries may not receive treatment.
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Mr Barclay said some decisions about what would be covered during the ambulance workers’ strikes today would be made on the day.
Asked why there was no national contingency plan in place for strike action, he told Sky News: “The difficulty in putting contingency measures in place is because of the uncertainty about exactly what is and isn’t covered and the fact that these decisions will in some cases be made on the day.
“But it’s also the case that even what are called Category 3 emergency calls are often very serious as well. So we are doing everything we can with NHS colleagues to put emergency measures in place.”
Image: Ambulance workers on a convoy in Coventry
He accused unions of refusing to guarantee a “national exemption” for life-threatening cases, but unions have repeatedly said they have agreed locally that category 1 and 2 calls should be covered, and they highlighted this at a meeting on Tuesday.
Unison general secretary Christina Makanea said she was “absolutely shocked” Mr Barclay accused them of not having a national exemption as she said he had “never specifically asked” Unison for one and admitted during their meeting , that local unions have “detailed, appropriate plans for their areas”.
Around 600 members of the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force have been mobilized from across the country to help out during the rides, some of whom have never driven the vehicles before.
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0:38 “I can’t describe how bad it is” – paramedic
Ahead of the strike action, unions called on the government to make a pay offer and suggested a deal could be reached.
Unite’s Onay Kasab, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, warned afterwards that the ambulance strikes would “escalate” unless the government agreed to talks.
“Our members are absolutely determined to not only win the pay battle but to win the battle to save the NHS,” he said.
Mr Barclay said: “Further pay rises would mean taking money away from frontline services at a time when we are dealing with record waiting lists as a result of the pandemic.”
Writing in The Telegraph, the health secretary added: “We now know that NHS emergency plans will not cover all 999 calls. Ambulance unions have made a conscious choice to harm patients.’
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0:48 GMB union boss: ‘Make us a pay offer’
But Rachel Harrison, from the GMB union, hit back, telling Sky News: “I actually think it’s a really insulting statement to our key NHS and ambulance staff. They did not make a conscious decision to put lives at risk.
“They have made a conscious decision to stand up for what they believe is an NHS that is crumbling under their feet and as they watch thousands of their colleagues leave the service every year because of poor pay and poor working conditions and a sense of being unable to provide the safe standards of care patients want.
“That’s why they’re making this conscious decision and it’s insulting to say they’re doing this to put people at risk.”
Read more: Strikes every day before Christmas – which sectors are affected and why How will A&E and other NHS services be affected
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NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor said: “We have reached the stage where our leaders feel it is necessary to say they cannot ensure patient safety, they cannot avoid the risks as these strikes unfold.”
The strike action comes a day after ambulance and hospital trusts across the country announced critical incidents as a result of “prolonged” and “unprecedented” pressure on services.
Meanwhile, nurses across the country went on strike for a second day yesterday.
The head of the Royal College of Nursing, Pat Cullen, has confirmed that nurses will call post-Christmas strikes until the end of the week unless the Government reaches a deal on pay.
She warned Mr Sunak that the “clock was ticking” to start negotiations to prevent further action.
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2:56 Beats: “Critical incidents” announced.
Health Secretary Will Queens yesterday urged people to rethink contact sports and avoid running on icy roads during the ambulance strike.
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