Health unions have been invited to pay for talks after paramedics vowed to escalate the strikes by refusing to respond to some heart attack and stroke victims.
In a major breakthrough, Steve Barclay has agreed to meet with representatives of paramedics and physiotherapists if they cancel planned union action.
Unison, Unite, GMB and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy are now considering the Health Secretary’s offer, with a decision expected tomorrow.
They first get confirmation that he is willing and able to agree to a retroactive pay deal for 2022/23 and an increase for 2023/24.
They also want a guarantee that they will be offered the same deal as nurses after the Royal College of Nursing ended strikes last week and accepted an invitation to one-way talks.
Steve Barclay has agreed to meet with paramedics and physiotherapist representatives if they cancel a planned union action
Junior doctors last campaigned in 2016 as part of a contractual dispute between doctors and then health secretary Jeremy Hunt
Ambulance workers, physiotherapists, nurses and midwives share the same NHS Agenda for Change contract and their unions traditionally negotiate together through the ‘NHS Works Council’.
But the government sparked fury and was accused of playing “divide and rule” by asking the RCN for separate “intense” discussions after threatening to take a tougher line and remove supplies to emergency rooms and cancer units.
This has prompted the GMB to step up planned strikes for next Monday and Wednesday, when up to 13,000 of its paramedics are expected to walk out.
If they continue, many will only respond to immediate life-threatening “category one” calls when a person’s heart has stopped or they are not breathing.
This means category two callers, such as people who have had a heart attack, stroke or serious burns, will be asked to go to hospital themselves.
GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said: “GMB members who work for ambulance trusts are understandably upset.
“They worked all day to provide a better service in emergencies than on non-strike days – and often arrived earlier than the police and other emergency services.
“What was your thanks? To be slandered by ministers for endangering lives.
Meanwhile, some emergency services have betrayed their trust by sending striking workers to non-emergency calls, such as drunk people at bus stops.
Last month, the British Medical Association announced a 72-hour strike in March, which also led to hospital dentists holding walkouts on the same days.
“Now they always see other workers threatening to strike – and these workers are immediately offered a deal or they immediately start talking intensely.”
Sara Gorton, health director at Unison, said unions were considering the government’s offer of talks.
She said: “Health unions need to clarify the basis on which discussions about the NHS works council can begin.
“It also includes an insight into the status of the one-way discussions that have taken place with the Royal College of Nursing.”
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Elaine Sparkes, secretary of the NHS group of unions and deputy director of industrial relations at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, added: “Once the picture becomes clearer, unions will decide what to do next.”
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents health organisations, welcomed the development and urged unions to embrace the “olive branch”.
He said: “We have repeatedly asked the government to negotiate with all unions and this is a very positive step in the right direction.
“We hope that all the unions representing healthcare workers in the NHS will accept this olive branch from the government and be ready to come to the table to try to find a compromise with the government as soon as possible.
“We need to end this war of attrition that we have seen over the last few months and get back on track, continue to tackle NHS waiting lists and get as many patients treated as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, junior doctors on other contracts described their talks with Mr Barclay as a “facade” and said they would plow through a three-day strike in two weeks.
Dr. Robert Laurenson and Dr. Vivek Trevedi, co-chair of the British Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Committee, called the Foreign Secretary a “professional delay” and claimed he was holding talks at the Department of Health without a negotiating mandate.
Dr Laurenson said after the talks outside the department: “We came here with a mandate and he turned up without a mandate. There was never any real prospect of a real negotiation or offer – it was just a facade.”
He said Mr Barclay had not offered a timetable for negotiations, adding: “The government is not taking us seriously.
“I don’t understand how the government can look at a mandate that is one of the strongest industry mandates in history and basically nothing else has been prepared or put on the table.”
Almost 140,000 operations and appointments have been canceled this winter due to NHS strikes. That number includes the largest-ever strike to disrupt ailing health services on February 6, involving tens of thousands of nurses and paramedics.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We have made it clear that we are happy to talk to any union that is willing to discuss what is fair and reasonable.
“We have invited the NHS Staff Council, which represents the unions’ Agenda for Change, to take part in a series of in-depth discussions this week on pay, improving working conditions and reforms that boost productivity.
“Any deal must strike a balance between a fair deal for NHS workers and keeping our promise to halve inflation this year.
“In order to start talks, all planned strikes must be called off with immediate effect.”
The BMA is demanding a 35 percent pay rise.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “The Health and Social Care Secretary met with the BMA today to discuss pay, career development and working conditions.
“He reiterated that the Government is keen to continue the debate about what is fair and affordable, recognizing the crucial role young doctors play and the wider economic pressures facing the UK.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
