Around 2,000 North West ambulance staff are expected to walk out in another day of strike action to hit the service.
Following Unison and Unite members taking industrial action yesterday, North West Ambulance Service workers who are part of GMB are on strike today (January 24). Paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers who are part of the GMB union began their 24-hour walkout just after midnight.
It comes as the bitter dispute over pay for NHS staff shows no sign of being resolved, with Rishi Sunak insisting pay rises would come from 'elsewhere in the NHS budget'. “North West ambulance workers are angry,” said GMB representative and NWAS paramedic Paul Turner.
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“Instead of talking about pay for this year to resolve this dispute, ministers are demonising us and belittling our efforts to save lives. The NHS is collapsing, yet we have been waiting two weeks today for another meeting with ministers. The only way to solve this dispute is a proper pay offer. We are waiting.”
NWAS workers taking industrial action on Monday told the Manchester Evening News the strike was a call for help for a struggling health service, amid a difficult winter for the NHS. Nick Hopkinson, who has been with the ambulance service for almost 19 years, said: "Paramedics are leaving for private providers who are paying more, or for entirely different professions, leaving us short - but the demand on the services continues to grow leaving us unable to get to everyone.
"This winter has felt one of the worst I've seen in 18 years - the length of waiting times, the number of people in the corridors at the hospital, bed spaces and nurses available. Predominantly the strike is about better pay for staff. They aren't getting the wage that's required for their job, and we don't have the capability to be providing the service that we should be providing."
NWAS says resources 'will be severely restricted' today as it urges the public to only call 999 with life-threatening emergencies. Ged Blezard, Director of Operations, said: “While we hope for a swift resolution to the dispute. This is an issue between the trade unions and the Government in relation to pay, and we respect members’ right to strike.
“Be assured that if you really need us, please continue to call 999, and we will come as quickly as possible. As before, we are maximising our own resources, using private providers and military support where appropriate and working closely with our trade unions to provide cover for the most serious emergencies.
"We are also working with our healthcare partners to maintain patient safety during these periods of industrial action. But, ultimately, to get to the people who need us this time, we need people to use us wisely."
Mr Sunak has promised further dialogue with unions, but a breakthrough on pay appears a long way off. He told ITV News on Monday “Taking a step back, of course it would be lovely to be able to wave a magic wand and just give everyone what they were demanding when it came to pay.
“But my job as Prime Minister is to make the right decisions for the country, and they are, more often than not, not easy decisions. But that’s my job, and that’s what I will always do in this job, and… when you think about this, how would we pay for these things? Where’s the money going to come from?
“Actually, it’s probably going to have to come from elsewhere in the NHS budget, and that means fewer nurses, fewer doctors, fewer MRI scanners and CT scanners that are diagnosing people with cancer or indeed fewer mental health ambulances that we’re announcing today that are going to save people from going to A&E. My job is to balance all of those things and do what I believe is right for the country.”
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