'We feel like we're failing' - London ambulance workers tell us why they're walking out

Striking ambulance workers in London have told us that they feel like they are failing their patients.

Scott is an emergency technician with the LAS who was out on the picket line today.

"We're there to save people. The fact that people are either getting worse or we've not been able to get to them in time, that person potentially could have been saved, could have been a totally different outcome, but then it's too late and we can't bring them back or for instance they could have permanent damage.

If we are stuck at hospitals, then we're not out there seeing members of the public. In order for us to be out seeing members of the public, we need to be offloading our patients at hospital. Otherwise we are just turning up to people who are very sick or some people have sadly died in the process of waiting, you just feel like you've failed."

Across England and Wales 25, 000 are taking part in industrial action in an ongoing row over pay and conditions, which include paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians from the Unison and GMB unions.

Fourteen health unions, representing more than a million NHS staff, have said they will not submit evidence to the NHS pay review body for the next wage round "while the current industrial disputes remain unresolved".

Instead, the unions, which represent ambulance staff, nurses, porters, healthcare assistants, physiotherapists and other NHS workers in England, called for direct pay talks with ministers.

London Ambulance Service (LAS) worker Marcus Davis said he does "not want to be here" and hopes this is the "final day" of walkouts before a deal is reached.

NHS Providers warned the health service would be hit harder by Wednesday's strike than one held in December as more staff, including call handlers, took action.

Saffron Cordery, NHS Providers' interim chief executive, said she expected pressure on service to "mount" during the day.

Unison has balloted around 15,000 of its members who are striking in London, Yorkshire, the North West, North East and South West.

More than 10,000 GMB ambulance workers were also walking out, with their ambulance services covering the South West, South East coast, North West, South central area, North East, East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Wales.

NHS England told patients to continue to call 999 for life-threatening emergencies but to use 111, GPs and pharmacies for non-urgent needs.

It said some people may be asked to make their own way to hospital, though it urged people to seek medical advice from 111 or 999 before doing so.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said delays to ambulances were "clearly a concern as to the impact it has on patient safety".

Asked about pay talks to break the current deadlock, Mr Barclay said he does not "think it is right" to "retrospectively" go back to April when it comes to reviewing this year's pay offer to NHS staff.

It comes amid reports he is considering backdating any 2023/24 pay rise, due to be finalised in the spring, to this month in order to boost the current year's settlement offer.

Ambulance responses are split into categories, with category 1 being the most life-threatening such as cardiac arrest, while category 2 covers conditions such as stroke, heart attack and sepsis.

No blanket agreement has been reached on responding to category 2 calls, with unions and trusts agreeing locally which category 2 calls will receive a response during the strike.

Mr Barclay condemned unions for failing to agree national minimum safety levels during strikes - something that would be fixed by legislation presented to Parliament on Tuesday.

Speaking at the London Ambulance Service headquarters in Waterloo, Unison's head of health Sara Gorton said the situation within the NHS seems to be "worsening day by day" and the "ball is in the Government's court" to fix it.

In the Commons, the Prime Minister clashed with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer over the new anti-strike bill, with Rishi Sunak saying: "No-one denies the unions' freedom to strike but it is also important to balance that with people's right to have access to life-saving healthcare."

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