West Midlands ambulance workers join picket lines as strike gets under way
Thousands of West Midlands ambulance workers have walked out today in a row over pay.
A picket line formed outside an ambulance hub on Burton Road, Dudley, on Wednesday morning, with passing drivers honking their horns to show their support.
Striking ambulance workers held up placards which read "Safe staffing now" and "Save our NHS".
GMB says the Government’s offer – an average of 4.75 per cent for NHS staff agreed by an independent review body – represented a huge real terms pay cut.
Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said the decision to walk out showed just how “desperate” workers had become.
She said it was “as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay”.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has pledged to deal with cardiac arrests, heart attacks, strokes, breathing difficulties and maternity emergencies, but has urged people to “only call if a patient is critical or there is a risk to life”.
Emergency services operations delivery director at WMAS, 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, and 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.
“Only call 999 if critically unwell or there is risk to life. Ambulances will be dispatched where clinically appropriate.
“If you need medical help or advice, go to NHS 111 online, your local GP or pharmacy.”
Patients have also been urged not to shy away from seeking emergency care during the strike.
Hospital bosses in the Black Country have stressed that ‘key services’ will continue to operate and the NHS will be working hard to keep patients safe during the strikes, with a second date scheduled for next week.
They said that nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care, and patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule.
