(James Manning/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)Ten thousands nurses walked out on Tuesday - with paramedics set to joined the strikes.
It comes as soldiers drafted in as emergency stand-ins for paramedics say they’re being stopped from carrying out treatment or using 999 blue lights.
The Royal College of Nursing is calling for a 19.2 per cent rise, but the government’s agreed to about a quarter of that.
So, now both sides are dug in with Rishi Sunak ruling out reopening talks and suggesting he’s dug in for a war of attrition with the unions.
Hundreds of squaddies costing thousands of pounds each a week each are meant to fill the void as paramedics strike for the first time in three decades.
But whereas they’re used to operating under fire and working on life-threatening wounds in war zones, military personnel say they’re not allowed to break the speed limit on a blue light emergency or even treat civilian patients.
The government says it’s putting patient safety first, as Britons are being urged by the government to avoid “risky” activities to help with pressure on emergency services on strike days.
For the latest from the picket line and modern NHS working pressures, the Leader’s joined by Ameera, an A&E nurse and a union member at a central London hospital, and Evening Standard health reporter Daniel Keane.
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