Ambulance strike: Hospital chiefs warn of patient safety risk

Hospital bosses have warned they cannot guarantee patient safety during strikes by thousands of ambulance workers on Wednesday in England and Wales.

However, NHS England maintains that emergency care will continue to be provided.

Ambulance response times are already double what they were two years ago, and emergency operators are under enormous pressure.

People are being urged to use services “wisely” and only call 999 in a life-threatening emergency – with 111 online being the first port of call.

There will be no action in Northern Ireland and Scotland and there will be no strikes in the east of England or the Isle of Wight.

But elsewhere there is likely to be greater disruption as paramedics, 911 workers, paramedics and technicians go on strike.

Around 750 armed forces personnel are being drafted to cover the strikes in England and Wales.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the NHS Confederation, which represents the health systems in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said there was now “deep concern among NHS leaders at the extent of the harm and risk facing patients tomorrow and beyond.” could arise”. .

“This is not something NHS leaders would ever say lightly,” it said, “but many are now telling us they cannot guarantee patient safety tomorrow.”

The letter has now also been signed by NHS Providers, the body representing hospital trusts, mental health and emergency services.

Not all unions strike at the same time on Wednesday and it is difficult to say how many workers in each service are on strike.

You can find out which unions are on strike in your rescue service with our interactive tool:

The ambulance workers’ industrial action this month follows two-day strikes by nurses over pay. It’s also been some of the busiest months on record for people visiting accident and emergency departments.

Long waits for ambulances after a 999 call have become the norm, as have queues of ambulances outside emergency rooms waiting to offload patients.

GMB Union national secretary Rachel Harrison said ambulance staff are tired of going to work and spending all day with a patient in an ambulance outside a hospital because of delays in transferring patients to A&E .

She said they were “physically prevented from doing their job” and didn’t know if the patients were “alive” when they came to see them after an assignment.

“We’ve raised these issues for years and been ignored,” she added.

Ambulance workers are demanding a pay rise above inflation, though not an exact number, and a plan to make up for lost earnings over many years.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay met with union officials on Tuesday afternoon but there were no discussions about pay, only what care would still be provided during the strike.

After the meeting, Mr Barclay tweeted that unions’ demands for higher wages were “unaffordable in these challenging times” but said he was “open to working with unions to make the NHS a better place to work”.

“My priority remains patient safety. We have contingency plans in place and I met with ambulance union officials today and urged them to honor their obligation to respond to life-threatening 911 calls,” he said.

Onay Kasab, Unite’s national head, said the meeting was “completely pointless” because the health minister refused to discuss the key issue – pay.

And Unison’s Christina McAnea said there was “no movement” and was “very disappointed” that the strike was continuing.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has insisted he will not back down from striking workers. Instead, he said the best way to help them is to reduce inflation as soon as possible.

NHS England says it has increased the number of staff taking 999 calls and is helping individual trusts speed up the process of handing over emergency patients and discharging those who are healthy enough to go home.

Health Secretary Will Quince even urged people to reconsider contact sports and unnecessary car trips during the ambulance strike.

The London Ambulance Service is testing a different approach on Wednesday – instead of sending an ambulance to all 999 calls, a team of clinicians will call patients back if they can be helped at home.

For those who need an ambulance, there are 200 vehicles compared to the normal 400. And most of these will be manned by a military member.

Chief Executive Daniel Elkeles said: “If this resource is insufficient to deal with all life-threatening emergencies, our staff will come off the picket line and respond.

“And that’s why we’re confident that tomorrow in London we can reach anyone who has a life-threatening emergency,” he said.

Five ambulance services reported critical incidents on Tuesday – North East Ambulance Service, South East Coast Ambulance Service, East of England Ambulance Service, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and South Central Ambulance Service – due to pressure on the services.

A critical incident allows services to prioritize specific patients and non-urgent staff needs, such as emergency medical services. B. training to cancel.

This can happen, for example, due to a very high number of calls.