Up to 10,000 NHS ambulance workers will strike today, the biggest strike of its kind since the 1980s.
Today’s action – coordinated by three unions – comes at a time when the system is already beginning to falter.
Data suggests heart attack victims are waiting up to an hour to be taken to hospital in parts of England.
Ministers have asked Britons not to do anything “risky” and only call 999 when lives are truly at risk. The NHS has urged everyone to ‘drink wisely’.
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Health Secretary Steve Barclay met union leaders last night in a last-ditch effort to avert planned chaos in nine of England’s ten trusts and Wales’ only service.
However, no agreement was made on the reward.
No10 insists its offer, a fixed payment of around £1,400, is fair. For most ambulance workers, who earn £34,000 on average, this is around 4 per cent.
Graphic representation of the average response times for category 1, 2, 3 and 4 calls to emergency services across England (left) and the average response time for each call (red) compared to the target response time (blue) for all services (right) )
Chart: The average time it takes emergency services across England to answer 999 calls
Conscripts from the Household Division take part in ambulance driver training at London’s Wellington Barracks in preparation for paramedic reporting on 21-28 December
Elizabeth Jane Davies, 93, suffered a broken hip when she fell at her care home in Llanbedrog, Wales. She lay on the floor for 25 hours screaming in pain
GMB, Unite and Unison, the unions behind the strikes, want more.
One of them called for a “catch-up program” to make up for lost revenue over the past decade.
Another wants an inflation-busting increase that could rise to at least 11 percent.
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Unions nationwide have agreed to provide a life and member service level that includes responding to category 1 999 calls, such as B. cardiac arrest includes.
But other exceptions or deviations are negotiated from trust to trust.
This means that taxi drivers, soldiers and police officers can be called to respond to some 999 calls.
Health officials stress that the public should still call 999 in an emergency.
Another strike is planned for next week, but only by the GMB union.
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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.
