Nottingham ambulance workers have said patient safety is being compromised every day as they took to the picket lines. East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) workers in Nottinghamshire joined thousands across England and Wales in taking strike action over pay on Wednesday, December 21.
GMB Union members set up picket lines at stations in Stapleford, Beechdale, Wilford, Carlton and others from 6am for the 24-hour strike. Paramedic Georgia Ramage and emergency medical technician Sarah Callaghan said the industrial action was not just about pay.
"It's not my main priority, it's more welfare of staff and patients in the wider NHS," said Ms Ramage, 26. "You don't get into this job for the money, you do it out of the goodwill of your nature and wanting to help people. But there becomes a burnout within yourself if you're pushed too much. People are dying in corridors and it needs to stop."
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Ms Callaghan, 35, added: "The main reason is patient safety, daily it's being compromised, there are many, many calls going unanswered or are waiting for a long time and it just doesn't sit right with any of us. There are shout-outs happening and we're stuck in hospital waiting to handover, through no fault of the hospital either.
"The other day, for example, we had handed over a patient and were due to have our break, then there's a shout-out on the radio saying the nearest crew for a category one call is 22 minutes away. That can be life and death, so we shout up, answer the call, do what we can for the patient and we're an hour late off after that."
Agreements were made to maintain response times to life-threatening calls, but less urgent calls, such as for falls, were expected to see long waits. Many striking staff were on standby in case a category one call was made.
Ms Ramage, who has been working in her role for three years, said that she had been considering her future. "To be completely honest I don't know how much longer I can do it for, something needs to change because it becomes too much," she said.
Staff on the picket lines enjoyed plenty of public support, with countless passing cars honking their horns. Members of the public, including a nurse and a council worker, also came over to drop off snacks.
Ambulance staff are hoping to be given above-inflation pay rises by the Government, which has said it would be unaffordable.
Finbar Bowie, a GMB Union representative said: "These are people that we call when we are most vulnerable and they've been treated really, really poorly by the Government. It cannot be solved with business as usual and they're out today because the offer they have been given on pay is not good enough."
The action comes after two days of nurse strikes and the declaring of a critical incident in Nottinghamshire. A second day of ambulance worker strikes is planned for December 28.
Ben Holdaway, director of operations at EMAS, said: "During the period of the dispute, we will do all we can to minimise the impact on patient safety and will continue to work very closely with trade union colleagues, regional service providers and NHS employers. Patients should continue to call for an ambulance as normal if they experience a life-threatening emergency and should continue to access other more appropriate services for any other illnesses or injuries.
"We fully respect the right of NHS staff to take lawful and peaceful industrial action, however, we do urge national employer representatives and trade union colleagues to proactively engage and reach a negotiated settlement to the dispute as quickly as possible."
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