Further industrial action is set to take place by East Midlands Ambulance Service next week with more than one union taking part. The service will be taking part in strikes from 6am Monday, February 6 until 8am Tuesday, February 7.
In addition to these strikes, UNITE and GMB have also planned strikes for Monday, February 20, Monday, March 6 and Monday, March 20. As the current mandate to strike covers a six-month period, further dates of industrial action may be announced.
Ben Holdaway, Director of Operations at EMAS said: "Previous industrial action days at EMAS have been immensely challenging, and we expect the same again on Monday and Tuesday. We continue to work closely with trade union colleagues, and NHS and blue-light service providers across the region to do all we can to minimise the impact on patient safety.
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"However, we anticipate that during action there will be fewer ambulances available and therefore our response to our patients will, inevitably, be much slower on the day. As we head towards the weekend, the NHS remains open and people are asked not to store up their health conditions or soldier on if they become unwell or injured – seek early advice from your local pharmacist, NHS111 Online, via your GP or Urgent Treatment Centre; and if you have a long-term condition, ensure you continue to take your routine medication as advised by your GP."
He continued “During industrial action we will continue to carefully assess and prioritise an ambulance response for those who need it most. It is important that the public use services wisely and make their own way to a treatment centre or hospital if safe to do so; this allows us to send our ambulances with life-saving equipment and clinicians on board to people who really need them.”
During days of industrial action it is important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases, such as when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk. GP services are not impacted by this strike action and NHS 111 online will continue to help those who need medical help or advice.
Ambulances will still be able to respond to emergencies, but this may only be where there is an immediate risk to life. 999 callers will be able to advise callers if it is safe for the patient to make their own way to a treatment centre of hospital, and if they will need the support of friends and family to do so.
During the industrial action, there will also be fewer ambulances on the roads, which means the NHS will be prioritising those with life-threatening needs. Patients whose condition is not life-threatening are unlikely to get an ambulance on strike days.
Longer call response times are also expected across the system as NHS 111 call centres will also have fewer members of staff.
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