Armed forces personnel drive an ambulance out of St Mary's Hospital, north west London
(Picture: PA)Health bosses are warning that disruption to urgent care will be expected this week after thousands of workers staged a historic walkout.
999 calls appeared to drop across the country but NHS Providers fear the knock-on effect of the nurses’ picket on Tuesday and ambulance staff strikes on Wednesday with cancelled appointments still needing to be rescheduled.
People whose conditions might have deteriorated because they avoided seeking help are a particular concern as bosses expect a return to “very high numbers” of emergency calls this week.
NHS Providers said there had been “varying levels of disruption” across the country with trust leaders reporting ongoing delays to ambulance services and overcrowding at some A&E departments.
Some 170 military personnel were understood to have been training at London’s Wellington Barracks to drive ambulances and bring equipment to clinical workers, and more could be deployed from other units.
The ambulance walk-outs across most of England and Wales have come at the “worst time,” Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said with the health service under huge strain from Strep A, Covid and flu.
He added: “We want to reassure patients and the public that if they need emergency care, A&Es remain open.”
Ambulance officials advised that people should dial 999 if there is a suspected heart attack or stroke and the cases would be clinically assessed.
Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “Leaders across the NHS also know that as this week’s strike action draws to a close, the disruption is far from over.
“The fallout from strike action is likely to spill over into the coming days due to the knock-on impact across different parts of the health and care system, the need to reschedule elective and outpatient appointments, and the anticipation of a return to very high numbers of emergency calls.
“There is particular concern about patients who may have delayed seeking care – and whose conditions have deteriorated – now coming forward for treatment.”
London Ambulance Service declined to comment on how services were running.
Ambulance waits for calls classed as emergencies have doubled in two years - from an average of around 20 minutes to more than 40 minutes. The target is 18 minutes.
NHS England said at least 11,509 staff were absent from work across the country as a result of industrial action by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on Tuesday, while 13,797 appointments and procedures were cancelled and rescheduled.
It came during a war of words between unions and Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who has said he will not back down on pay.
Mr Barclay said the Unite, Unison and GMB unions had “refused” to work with the Government at a national level to set out plans for dealing with the strikes, but the unions said all those agreements had been made locally and were in place.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused Mr Barclay of a “blatant lie” for saying ambulance unions had taken a “conscious decision” to inflict harm on patients, while the GMB called on the Cabinet to “grow up and get round the table” instead of attempting to “smear” ambulance workers.
Earlier, Mr Barclay said there was a need to “look forward” to next year’s pay process after he declined to review the current offer.
The majority of ambulance trusts in England are on their highest level of alert, meaning they cannot provide usual critical services and patients may be harmed.
The next ambulance strike is due to take place on December 28.
