Ambulance workers have announced plans for two further strike days next month in an ongoing dispute over pay and staffing.
Members of Unison, including in the North East, will strike in the New Year on Wednesday, January 11 and Monday, January 23, following industrial action from three unions on Wednesday, December 21 and a further planned walkout on Wednesday, December 28. The strikes set to take place in January will run from midnight to midnight and involve all ambulance employees, not just the 999 response crews.
Unison said that the new strikes were a direct result of the Government's "repeated refusal" to negotiate NHS pay rises this year. Health Secretary Steve Barclay sparked outrage from NHS staff on Wednesday after accusing the unions of taking a "conscious decision" to harm patients.
READ MORE: 'I know how dedicated you are' - North East public sends messages of support to striking NHS workers
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: "It’s only through talks that this dispute will end. No health workers want to go out on strike again in the new year.
"But accusing NHS staff of making a conscious decision to inflict harm on the public by taking action this week was not the health secretary's finest hour. Neither was it a particularly smart move for Steve Barclay to falsely accuse health unions of failing to deliver a national emergency cover plan.
"The secretary of state knew full well life and limb cover arrangements were being agreed locally by ambulance managers and unions. It’s time Steve Barclay stopped with the insults and fibs and called the unions in for proper talks about improving NHS pay."
The news comes after the North East Ambulance Service declared a "critical incident" on Monday, December 19, as a result of "unprecedented pressure" impacting the ability of the service to respond to patients. More than 200 people experienced significant delays waiting for an ambulance, and there was additionally a reduction in ambulance crew availability due to delays in handing over patients at hospitals in the region.
Following walkouts by paramedics on Wednesday, Stephen Segasby, chief operating officer at the North East Ambulance Service, said today: "Yesterday (Wednesday) was an incredibly challenging day for our service. We had a significant number of our teams unavailable due to the industrial action. This followed a peak in pressures earlier in the week when we declared a critical incident.
"We received fewer 999 calls yesterday and deployed all our clinical managers, training team staff, volunteers and private ambulance providers to respond to emergency calls. However, we don’t yet know the full impact of the industrial action on our patients or the wider NHS system, but we thank the public for using 999 wisely, our partners in hospitals and across the NHS for their support to keep our crews on the road and our colleagues for helping to ensure we could reach patients in emergency need of our help."
READ NEXT:
