During strikes, ambulances will respond ‘life-threatening’ calls

• Ambulances would only respond to “life-threatening” Category 1 calls, during strikes.
• The government is discussing what will be covered by the trade unions.
• Category 1 is life-threatening, and 2 is emergency. Heart attacks and strokes are examples.

During the two days of strike action this month, ambulances would only respond to “life-threatening” Category 1 calls, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said.

Mr. Barclay told Sky News that the government is discussing what will be covered with the trade unions.

“They’ll cover life-threatening situations.”

Four types of calls: Category 1 is life-threatening, 2 is emergency. Heart attacks and strokes are examples. So your case is usually a 3 or 4.

“Unions insist these things won’t be covered.”

If someone has a suspected heart attack, an ambulance will arrive, he said.

Mr. Barclay said, “We’re discussing strokes.” The unions told us they wouldn’t discuss derogations, what would be covered, and what wouldn’t until the strike date.

“Now that they’ve done that, we’ll discuss what it covers tomorrow.”

More than 10,000 ambulance employees in nine England and Wales trusts will strike on 21 and 28 December in a salary dispute.

Ambulance workers from the GMB union will strike at some trusts.

Unite said 1,600 members at West Midlands, North West, and North East ambulance service trusts will walk out on 21 December.

Unison ambulance workers will strike in London, Yorkshire, the NW, NE, and SW.

After the Royal College of Nursing’s second protest over salary, the strikes will go forward.

Last week, ambulance workers and certain NHS trusts voted to strike against the government’s 4% pay award, which the GMB union called a “huge real-terms pay drop.”

The government can’t afford such demands, and increased wages will raise prices.

On the two stated dates, union representatives will meet with individual trusts to discuss “life and limb cover.”

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said, “The government could halt this strike in a heartbeat if they negotiated pay.”

Unite termed the action a “stark signal” to the government to end the NHS’s “crisis.”

The union promised to guarantee emergency patient care.

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