Ambulance services face major disruption on Wednesday as staff go on strike across Wales. Ambulance staff from the GMB Union will walk out across England and Wales on Wednesday, the first of two planned strike days over the Christmas period in a row over pay. A second day of action will take place on Wednesday, December 28.
The strike is expected to have a significant impact on ambulance services on Wednesday. Welsh Ambulance Service has said people should only call 999 if they are seriously ill or injured and there is a risk to life, such as cardiac arrest, continuous fits, lack of consciousness or breathing difficulties, and some cases of acute behavioural disturbance.
Non-urgent calls are unlikely to receive an emergency response and life-threatening calls are expected to see major delays. In some cases, staff will be asking patients to make their own way to hospital. Category 'red' calls - those which are deemed the most serious - account for around 15% of all calls made to the ambulance services in Wales.
