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Patients have been warned of ‘significant delays’ in emergency responses to 999 calls as ambulance workers prepare to walk out on strike.
Members of the GMB and Unison unions will take strike action on Wednesday, 11 January, and NHS Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust said it had been preparing for this in advance. It said it had been working to discharge as many patients as possible from hospital in advance of the strike where those patients are medically fit and it is safe to do so.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service said there will be fewer ambulances on the roads during the strike action and the most urgent and life-threatening calls will be prioritised. The strike is part of an ongoing national pay dispute with the government.
Read More: Ambulance workers announce fresh strike date
Nick Smith, executive director of operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “During the strike held just before Christmas, the public responded as we’d asked them to and used our emergency service appropriately for very serious and life-threatening incidents. With continued operational pressures and further industrial action across all of our services, we will have less resources available to respond on Wednesday 11 January.
“Services will be severely disrupted, with the likelihood of significant delays in emergency responses and telephone calls to 999 and NHS 111 being answered. So, we are urging the public to use all of our services more wisely, but particularly the emergency ambulance service.
“We will be here for those who really need us, but you should only call 999 when someone is in a life-threatening or very serious condition as we prioritise our responses. Ambulances will still be able to respond during the strike, but this will only be where there is an immediate risk to life.
“Less serious calls may not receive a response or a significantly delayed response for the duration of the strike action and some patients might be asked to make their own way to hospital, where it is safe for them to do so.”
(Image: Philip Andrew Carl Taylor licenced for reuse under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Strike action by GMB members is due to last for 24 hours on Wednesday, January 11, between midnight and midnight (across all services). Strike action by UNISON members will take place between 10am and 10pm on the same day across all services. Union membership in Yorkshire Ambulance Service of both GMB and UNISON is approximately 4,150 staff (out of a workforce of over 7,000).
The NHS trust is urging anyone with a hospital appointment on 11 January to continue to attend as normal unless they are contacted to advise otherwise. It added that it will be “stepping up efforts on the day to support timely ambulance turnaround” for crews arriving at its Emergency Department to support those patients in urgent and life-threatening situations,
As a result of the strike there will be fewer 999 and NHS111 call handlers available on the day so anyone contacting these services should expect longer call response times. Patients who are unwell and need assistance are being asked to consider other alternatives including local pharmacies, their GP practice, Story Street walk-in centre in Hull and Local Urgent Treatment Centres, which can be found in Bransholme, Beverley, Goole and Bridlington and are open into the the evening with the exception of Bransholme which remains open 24 hours a day.
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