Nurses and ambulance staff across the West Midlands begin fresh strikes
It's as the ongoing dispute over pay & working conditions is yet to be resolved.
The NHS faces its largest ever strike by health workers today, as tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance staff walk out including across the West Midlands.
The protest - largely in England - is the result of an escalating pay dispute between unions and the government.
Here, union members at West Midlands Ambulance Service will take to picket lines today. RCN members in Birmingham, Worcestershire and Shropshire will also walk out both today and tomorrow.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has said the industrial action means fewer ambulances on the roads and fewer staff taking 999 calls. It's urging people to use 999 wisely.
Emergency Services Operations Delivery Director, Nathan Hudson, said: “We have had productive discussions with our staffside colleagues to agree that ambulances will respond to the most urgent calls such as cardiac arrests and where a crew request immediate back up at the scene of a case.
"Other very serious cases such as heart attacks, strokes, difficulty in breathing and maternity cases.
“In addition, staff in our non-emergency patient transport service will continue to convey vulnerable groups such as patients undertaking renal dialysis, cancer treatments, palliative care, emergency scans within the strike period timeframe.
“Ambulances will be dispatched where clinically appropriate.”
RCN director for England Patricia Marquis said: "Since he took office, the Prime Minister has failed to deliver on his promises to the NHS and is letting it deteriorate rapidly.
"More people are waiting in A&E, more patients are stuck in hospitals unable to access the care at home they need, and bed occupancy rates remain at dangerous levels. People are also having to wait longer to access mental health services when demand has never been greater.
"Patients are not dying because nurses are striking. Nurses are striking because patients are dying.
"Our members have a mandate to take strike action for another 100 days and the Prime Minister would do well to see these strikes for what they are - a warning of the need for swift action."
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: "Patients will understandably be worried by the prospect of further strike action by nurses - the previous two days of nurse strikes saw around 30,000 elective procedures and outpatient appointments cancelled. It is inevitable industrial action will have an impact on patients.
"I have had constructive talks with the Royal College of Nursing and other unions about the 2023/24 pay process and look forward to continuing that dialogue."