Ambulance workers in Yorkshire back on strike today
They are walking out in a row over pay and conditions
Ambulance workers across North Yorkshire say they have got no choice but to go on strike today.
Members of the GMB Union and UNISON are walking out over what they claim are "unsafe" staffing levels.
Meghan Ollerhead is the Ambulance lead in Yorkshire for UNISON and says it's also about pay, because the Government's latest offer doesn't keep up with rising cost of living: "Any boost to their pay is completely swallowed up by the cost of living crisis. At a time when a quarter of NHS hospitals have got foodbanks running for their own staff, any pay rise that doesn't alleviate that is not good enough."
Strike action by GMB members will take place today (Wednesday 11 January) for 24 hours, between midnight and midnight (across all services). Strike action by UNISON members is between 10am and 10pm also across all services.
Yorkshire ambulance service urges patients to "use them wisely"
In a statement Yorkshire Ambulance Service say: 'Whilst we recognise and respect individuals’ legal right to participate in industrial action, our priority remains ensuring that patient and staff safety, welfare, dignity, and respect are maintained. Yorkshire Ambulance Service has put a number of contingency plans in place to allow it to respond to high acuity life-threatening and very serious cases during the strike.'
Nick Smith, Executive Director of Operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said:
“During the strike held just before Christmas, the public responded as we’d asked them to and used our emergency service appropriately for very serious and life-threatening incidents.
“With continued operational pressures and further industrial action across all of our services, we will have less resources available to respond on Wednesday 11 January. Services will be severely disrupted, with the likelihood of significant delays in emergency responses and telephone calls to 999 and NHS 111 being answered.
“So, we are urging the public to use all of our services more wisely, but particularly the emergency ambulance service. We will be here for those who really need us, but you should only call 999 when someone is in a life-threatening or very serious condition as we prioritise our responses.
“Ambulances will still be able to respond during the strike, but this will only be where there is an immediate risk to life. Less serious calls may not receive a response or a significantly delayed response for the duration of the strike action and some patients might be asked to make their own way to hospital, where it is safe for them to so.
“Patients waiting for an ambulance should only call back if their symptoms worsen or to cancel an ambulance if alternative transport has been arranged, so that our lines are available to take new emergency calls.”
“We also ask that people seek help and advice from alternative healthcare providers, including NHS 111 Online (111.nhs.uk), their own GP or by visiting a pharmacist.”
Government describes strikes as a "unnecessary disruption"
In a statement the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:
“Today’s ambulance strike is an unwelcome return to unnecessary disruption and comes at a time when the NHS is already under huge pressure from Covid and flu.
“While we have contingency plans in place, including support from the military, community first responders and extra call handlers, to mitigate risks to patient safety, there will inevitably be some disruption for patients with fewer ambulances on the road.
“Patients should continue to call 999 for life-saving care and use NHS 111 online services for urgent health advice.”