People are being urged to still dial 999 or go to the emergency room if their lives are in danger as paramedics prepare to head out again tomorrow.
NHS leaders acknowledged that hospital leaders are “worried” about the impact of the ongoing ambulance and nurse strikes. On February 6, they warned of an unprecedented level of violations as workers in both trades go on strike.
Thousands of ambulance workers from Unite, GMB and Unison will march across England and Wales on Monday.
Paramedics, emergency room workers and control room workers are on strike affecting services in London, Yorkshire, the North East and the South West. In Liverpool, porters, cleaners, nurses, midwives and healthcare workers from the Liverpool University Hospital Funds and Heart and Chest Hospital will also go on strike.
Professor Sir Stephen Powys, Medical Director of the NHS, said: “Patients continue to be told it is important to contact them and seek emergency care if necessary.
“This includes calling 999 for life-threatening emergencies and using 111 online for other health needs where you can get clinical advice on the best next steps.
“People should also continue to use local services such as pharmacies and health clinics that have not been affected by the strikes.”
Ambulance strikes continue this week in various parts of the country, with GMB North West Ambulance Service on strike on Tuesday and Unite workers in Northern Ireland on Thursday.
Additional dates have been announced for February and March, and on February 6, ambulance workers from the GMB and Unite unions will go on strike on the same day as the nurses, in what leaders warn is “the biggest strike day ever seen by the National Health Service.” . . seen” maybe. .
Miriam Deakin, director of strategy and policy at NHS providers, said NHS leaders are “understandably worried” about another day of strikes tomorrow after nurses and paramedics took consistent action this week.
She said it was clear that NHS workers felt “forced” to go on strike.
“The last thing vendors want is treatment interruptions, and they carefully plan to mitigate the impact of these strikes on patients, but some disruptions are inevitable, including longer than usual wait times,” she said. said.
Ms Deakin said the coordinated action of nurses and paramedics on Feb. 6 could disrupt patients “on a scale we’ve never seen before.”
“It is more important than ever that the government immediately meets with unions to prevent further strikes by discussing wages this fiscal year,” she added.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said ambulances could still respond to calls if there was a risk to “life and limb”.
“The public needs to be confident that there will be additional doctors in call centers to help dispatchers direct ambulances to places where they are most needed.”
But he said the cumulative impact of the strikes is worrisome, especially when it comes to reducing long waiting times for treatment.
“The more strikes, the more appointments have to be rescheduled and the longer it will take to release millions of people from waiting lists for scheduled treatment,” he said.
“This is especially frustrating as nearly 30,000 people on the waiting list were seen in November before the union action, in parallel with serving 1.44 million visitors and reducing ambulance waiting times last week.”
London neurosurgeon Dr. Dolin Bhagavati of the UK Physicians’ Association said the emphasis on failure during the strike days was a “distraction”.
“We are already seeing disruptions to the NHS on non-strike days. The emphasis on strike days is a distraction from the problems patients face every day on non-strike days, which are more common,” he said. I.
He said neurosurgical patients often need to be transferred to specialized units, and he sees the consequences of delays on a daily basis. The condition of the patients worsened due to delays, leading to a higher degree of disability, which subsequently required further treatment.
“This is what front line medical personnel have been yelling about for most of 2022 and of course all summer, and it has been completely ignored.”
He said the government’s failure to engage in serious wage negotiations with unions was “a matter of grave concern”. “Currently, government policy is to hold and allow strikes.”
On Sunday, Unison general secretary Christina McKaney said the solution to the crisis was to “look the government in the face” and urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to allocate funds to end the strikes.
“The public wants the government to end the scandal, as do the NHS staff, but most ministers look like they would rather step in and do nothing than raise pay and help the sick NHS get well,” she said. “Higher wages will discourage experienced workers from moving into better paying jobs and encourage more people to join the NHS.”
She said the increase in staff would speed up the ambulance’s response and reduce waiting times for patients.
Health Minister Steve Barclay on Sunday issued a statement saying he had “constructive discussions” with unions about the 2023-2024 pay process next year and will continue to discuss “what is affordable and fair.”
“It is extremely disappointing that some ambulance workers continue to speak out with the unions. While we have prepared contingency plans to mitigate patient safety risks, further disruptions will inevitably occur.”
What days does the ambulance strike?
- Monday, January 23 – GMB (West Midlands), Unite and Unison ambulance staff.
- Tuesday, January 24 – GMB ambulance workers (Northwest).
- Thursday 26 January – Unite (Northern Ireland)
- Monday 6 February – Unite (in the North West, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands and Wales, plus GMB ambulances and nurses.
- Thursday 16 February – Unite (Northern Ireland) and GMB staff.
- Friday 17 February – Unite (in the West Midlands and Northern Ireland)
- Monday 20 February – Unite (in East Midlands, North East and Wales) plus GMB staff.
- February 22, Wednesday – Unite (Northwest)
- Thursday 23 February – Unite (Northern Ireland)
- Friday 24 February – Unite (Northern Ireland)
- Monday 6 March – Unite (in the North West, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands and Wales) plus GMB staff
- Monday 20 March – Unite (in the North West, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands and Wales) plus GMB staff.
With additional reporting from agencies.
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.